"A Decade Later" is a compilation of songs for the most part previously released on different albums by the artist Thomas J, who would later begin to release music under the name of GOD RIBBON, and also found the lovely website that you are reading this review from.
Despite it being a compilation, this release sounds coherent and well assembled, without the "Frankenstein" effect that compilations sometimes produce.
The songs seem to have been taken form some obscure rock records from the late 60s/ early 70s, and then dipped into a jar of 21st century pessimism, sprinkled with some electronic inserts to add flavoured and served hot on our turntable.
Some of the thracks are more electric, with distorted guitar tones that taste like Cream (pun intended) and the Kinks, with simple riffs that would not seem out of place in an album from the Stooges, but everything is darker and dirtier. Imagine the early Alice Cooper band (the "Love me to death"/"Killers"/"School's Out" period) but with their adolescent brazeness swapped with a more post-punk introspection.
Other songs are more mellow and acoustic, but they manage to maintain the energy on good levels, proving once again that you don't need high volume and massive distortion to be rock. Tracks like "You shaped hole" and "Ego" are definitely meant to be played on a bar stool, with a hat pulled down over your eyes, in a questionable tavern for artists and tormented souls. Some of these quieter tracks are still decorated with dark and dissonant undertones. Take for example "Sin of Envy" and tell me if it doesn't sound like a fever dream offspring of "Can't help falling in love with you".
While the atmosphere in both cases is definitely vintage, the record doesn't sound "old". It's rock music, with all its contaminations and different souls, and it's timeless.
The selection of the songs and their placement along the tracklist provide us with an optimal listening experience, that gives us a very good picture of the multi-faceted personality of the artist. Have a go at it, you won't regret it.