4 out of 5

Label: Temporary Residence

Produced by: Various

I’d rode pretty hard for Young Widows kinda sorta since Settle Down City, though it moreso clicked with Old Wounds – arguably when the band discovered their sound beyond Breather Resist. Despite (initial) disappointment with In and Out of Lightness, I did my best to evangelize upon each release – admittedly my sphere of influence was, like, two people, but I was annoyingly persistent even then! – and was hyped to find / be there for cool things like the four-part split series, or when YW teamed up with one of my other favorite bands, Helms Alee.

And then… nothing. Or rather, vocalist Evan Patterson’s side project, Jaye Jayle, became not a side project, and it took me a while to admit that I just wasn’t as much into what Patterson was doing there. And then… a live split EP from Widows and Sweet Cobra, but from a 2011 recording. So by the time of Decayed’s release I was dang ready, but also bummed to realize it was a compilation of material I mostly already owned. Nice to have it collected, of course, but even new tracks weren’t enough to rally me: I mostly let this comp slip by.

Which is a shame, as it’s a reminder / proof of how consistent their sound has been while definitely evolving, and also makes me feel like not a chump for investing in those singles at the time, because they are all really damn good. Even if some of the songs here are arguably too close to sounds found on the main releases – maybe suggesting why they were shuffled elsewhere – there’s sincerely not a track that has full B-side vibes, excepting maybe the plodding In My Living Room, but it’s buffered by good sequencing.

Speaking of: chronology doesn’t always work for compilations, but it was the right choice here. YW dialed in to minimalist hardcore towards the end of the album eras captured here, with the preceding album more longform and a softer touch, with the preceding two albums punk and punkier; that’s actually ideal sequencing that kind of builds us up to start, stretches out leading into the middle – all of the new material is from that era – then picks back up to rock out and gets louder and louder heading into its conclusion. Thematically / lyrically we bounce around in a way that clues us in to this being collected songs, but musically this all holds together really well, thanks in no small part to consistent recording / mixing with primarily Kevin Ratterman and then Kurt Ballou and Chris Owens before him, Ratterman hooking in to what Ballou brought to Old Wounds that made it work.

While I wouldn’t argue that any of the new songs by themselves are must-owns, I was foolish for thinking that having the majority of the material on singles was “enough:” all of this, sequenced together, really does make for greater than the sum of its parts, and was truly a fitting followup album to Easy Pain.