Album Notes

The Decliners were formed in the spring of 2005 in Portland, OR. by lead singer nolanvoid and guitarist David Hickson. They have been supported since then by many talented local musicians including : currently: Tommy Shivers on Drums (The Plushies, Orgent Ange, Operation J) A no. 1 on Bass (Bitchmachine) Formerly/Sometimes: Joey Steelhead on Bass (Plaid Pantry Project, FOREHEAD) Meatbag on Drums (Black Market Babies) Mr. Swank on Drums (The Meth Moms, Drunktank) The Decliners are currently working on their new album set to be released in the winter or early spring. The Decliners sound is soaked through with Pacific Northwest influences from the Wipers to Dead Moon and even obscure bands such as Creeping Meatball and Mudhoney. They range from sparce and delicate at times, to thick, pounding and difficult to fathom. And there is never any mistaking the band's enraged political message, as we will be among the first to be dispatched for thought crimes when Richard Bruce Cheny formally opens the new re-education camps in America! Welcome to a new era of Northwest sludge rock: (From the May 10 2006 Willamette Week:} "Political punk need not be the stuff of flag-burning, ranting paranoiacs and Mohican-haired, spike-donning crusties. Portland's own masters of the "thumbs-down"a much more powerful insult than the tired old middle fingerthe Decliners prove that the machine can be duly raged against both with a sense of melody and without tuneless screaming. The quartet's debut, Thanks, But No Thanks, utilizes effect-laden guitars and grim vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Wipers and late-period Gang of Four. DAVE CLIFFORD" (From the Dec. 7 issue of Willamette Week:} "The act of declining is a rather polite refusal, particularly for a punk band. But, the Decliners aren't a typical punk group. Vocalist-guitarist David Hickson sings like a ghost gone a-haunting while his distortion-ravaged guitar oozes over the rhythm section. Composed of members of the Piss-Shivers, Drunktank and Death By Tire Iron, the Decliners are a group of experienced musicians who are ushering in a new era of politically enraged Northwest sludge rock. Rather than constantly waving its middle finger, though, the Decliners opt for the far-more-insulting thumbs-down." DAVE CLIFFORD.