Gyan Rosling - Decadence

(Retro Promenade 2017)

One of the naming cliches in synthwave is to take someone or something from the '80s and switch the first letters of the first and last names. This was done first by Com Truise, but now there is a Right Nider, a Knichael Might and several others. In this case, the reference is not even to the '80s, but to the actor who stars in the 2011 retro film Drive. That does not inspire confidence, but of course it is wrong to judge a book by its cover, right?



Decadence is not bad. "Influx" is a cool track and has a lot of good progression. There are also some lush moments elsewhere that I appreciate. But while Decadence comes tantalizingly close at times, it never manages to pull it off. For me this feels like an awkward first release that maybe suggests something much better will be coming along down the pipe. There is certainly potential here. It just isn't quite there yet.

Score: 5.0