The Decibels - Big Sounds Again (2020)

RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL!! “Big Sounds Again” is the remixed and remastered version of The Decibels’ 2001 release “The Big Sounds of the Decibels” with a couple bonus tracks thrown in. Why remix and remaster a release, you ask? In 2000, the band was signed to a label called Street Songs, which focused on Mod-ish bands. They gave the band a recording budget, but soon after the sessions began, the label folded. A friend of the band worked with the studio to settle the debt and get the tapes, and then went to work at his home studio. The finished result sounded great. It was a bit slicker and had a bit more processing than it would have had if the band had been left to their own devices, but a number of fans let them know it was still their favorite release. In 2016 the band was offered studio time to “finish the record” the way they’d intended. When finished, the remixed songs then had the kind of signature Decibels scrappiness and jagged edges that were muted in the original release. During the process, they also discovered a few songs they had totally forgotten that were recorded during those same sessions - two of which are on this collection. “The second album from The Decibels once again stands out from the not so few releases that appear in the tension between punk rock, 60’s and power pop. From the first to the last of the 13 songs, the best mood is spread here, with a mixture that on the one hand authentically draws on influences from power pop, Brit mod and 60’s pop, but on the other hand avoids being ‘retro’ with a current, clear production sound. Whoever manages to sit still on this record and does not hum after the third song has a real problem!” – Ox-Fanzine.de The Beatles had “Let It Be”, and then years later “Let It Be, Naked”. Both have stood the test of time and the version you prefer really depends on your mood. “Big Sounds” and “Big Sounds Again” are companion pieces in the same way. And, like the aforementioned releases, if you’re a true Decibels fan, then you really do need BOTH!! GREAT(ER)!!