"Word of Decade", debut album of the homonimous band, is an extremely honest album: there are no gimmicks, no frills, just a bunch of instruments plugged into an amp, a handful of riffs, and a strong desire to rock. Sometimes that is all you need, and I would say that in general the formula seems to work for the power trio from Missouri.
The tracklist is cohesive, showing that these three rockers have clear ideas and a good chemistry between them. The songs sounds like they have been recorded live in the studio, with seemingly no overdubs, a solution that is great for giving a taste of the raw energy of the band, who doesn't need to knock out the audience with a wall of sound to impress them.
Musically, the trio delivers a very in-your-face rock style, with a very dry guitar tone (which fits quite well in my opinion) and a solid rhythm section that support the punk-ish vocals of singer and bassist Chris Spirit Brown. The lyrics are very matter-of-fact, nothing ambiguous or metaphorical but still interesting and sincere.
Admittedly, while the performance side is solid (mention of honour for the intense drumming especially on "Keeping in Touch" and "Original and Local"), the songwriting appears to be still slightly unripe. The riffs work but don't get stuck in your head, the hooks are fun but without any surprise effect. The short duration of the album helps because it allows the artists to throw their best cards on the table without watering down the substance.
Being a debut album, I'm sure that we will see some improvement on this side in the next releases. Again the backbone is there and it works perfectly, it's just a matter of adding some flesh to it. The potential is there so I invite you to keep an eye on this band (and obviously check out this release).