Decatur Leaves Pensive Alt-Rock at Walnut Room

Local up-and-coming 5-piece Decatur hosted an EP release party last Friday night in front of a Walnut Room filled with happy & adoring fans, leaving no one disappointed. Fronted by a suave looking Sean Decrescenzo, the band played a little more than an hour of smooth, well-constructed rock that mostly recalled the sounds of Alt-J or The Fray, occasionally adding a soupcon of Dave Matthews‘ pop brilliance.

Decrescenzo was joined by Quinn Cox (guitar, keys, vocals), Chris Howard (drums, vocals), Sam Oatts (bass, vocals), and Tay Hamilton (guitar, vocals) in delivering a well-practiced and well-produced sound filled with full vocal harmonies floating through dynamic guitar and keyboard constructions and anchored by a rock-solid rhythm section. “Don’t Talk” – the opener on their debut eponymous EP – was a moody heartbreaker, and “Shadows” played out an almost film noir atmosphere.

While these musicians are fantastically talented and played a nearly flawless set, it’s a little too evident that they’re still reaching for a consistent style all their own. Well-constructed songs like “Hide Me Away” and “Every Little Step” Came across with just a shade too much of The Fray in the overall sound, although in most of the other songs Decatur easily portrayed their own unique, smooth and pensive sound.

The venue was either swaying or bouncing to the set, pumped up and excited as the band played ou its set. Many of the fans were familiar enough with the band to sing along, but almost nobody was standing still. Decatur is on its way up in the Denver scene, and with their talent and commitment should be among the upper echelon before you know it – keep your eye on them. You can stream their debut EP on SoundCloud, to get a good taste of them.