With the release of Bloom in 2017, Decent Criminal have been making a name for themselves with their influences of abrasive love pop, distorted guitars, and surf punk.
Bloom was the beginning of Decent Criminal. With the release of Bliss in 2019, the band found themselves headlining their first European tour, and now they are back with the May 19 release of their album There’s More To It Than Climbing on Diissed Records. Decent Criminal continue their evolution and have added a new face to the band, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Paige Beller.
When asked about There’s More To It Than Climbing, brothers vocalist Tristan Martinez and drummer Hunter Martinez say, “It was a natural progression where Bliss captured where we were at the time. There’s More To It Than Climbing captures where we are now. This band are moving forward. This record shows we aren’t just another pop-punk band. It shows we can write in different styles, and that’s the one that fits perfectly right now. These new songs are basically about the last five years.”
The first half of There’s More To It Than Climbing are sunny and upbeat, with tracks like “Same” wielding a Sublime-esque bounce, and then it progresses into deeper tracks like “You Dog” and “Hold Me Down.”
While reflecting on some of the songs on the upcoming album, the brothers note a few things. “The song ‘Same’ was the first I wrote during the pandemic. I just wrote it while messing around with the drumbeat and Garage Band,” laughs Tristan. “I wanted to extend it and thought it should be a full song, but then we kept it. It’s a minute and a half and, ‘just a little champ;’ those are the lyrics, and they just made me laugh.
“The album’s first half is a familiar place for anyone that’s heard our band before. It’s a cool combination of new and old stuff. The lyrics to ‘You Dog’ are more personal. Not that I’m saying ‘Driving’ isn’t personal, but ‘Driving’ has been misconstrued regarding what the song is about. But ‘You Dog’ is, I believe, honest and relatable for people that have been through relationships like that. But, again, it’s based on my experience.”
“The songs ‘Hold Me Down’ and ‘Each Time’ are probably my favorite, but it’s hard to choose,” remarks Hunter from the sideline, “But ‘Soothe’ is one of my favorite songs, too.”
Tristan, on the other hand, notes, “I go back and forth about my favorite song because specific lyrics resonate with me. I think ‘You Dog’ is one of the best songs there. It’s based on my own experiences. The song ‘Driving,’ I do like to drive, but I woke up with the melody in my head, and I was thinking about this girl I was dating and me driving around drinking and smoking cigarettes. But the lyrics changed to something much deeper. The car became a metaphor for me. And now I’m 34, living a different lifestyle, but that’s basically what ‘Driving’ is about.”
When discussing the focus on There’s More To It Than Climbing, where some albums focus mainly on heartbreak or self-doubt, Tristan Martinez says, “This one has less of that. It’s more about freedom. It’s about feeling like yourself and liberation, and some stuff happened in my life that was hard to deal with and came out liberating, and I’m super grateful for it.”
Photo courtesy of Alan Snodgrass
