In Decay

For Haley's second studio album of his Com Truise project, he initially planned to "kind of experiment more, because I was feeling a little trapped for a while there, after doing a bunch of touring and stuff."[1] However, following demands from his label Ghostly International and emails sent by listeners to issue a collection of his demos and tracks that were previously only on internet-distributed mixtapes, such as those from his Komputer Kasts series, and his SoundCloud account, Haley ultimately decided to make his next release a collection of these tracks.[1] With "Open" released as the lead single of In Decay on June 26, 2012,[2] Stereogum premiered the compilation on July 16, 2012.[3]

In Decay is a collection of Com Truise's early recordings, some from Truise's online mixtapes and some unreleased; mastered for this LP by Haley.[1] The earliest-made tracks were composed before the release of Cyanide Sisters (2010), which Haley described as less "experimental" and more "structured" than his later material.[1] As Haley explained, "some of those tracks are maybe a continuation [of the themes and sounds on Galactic Melt], and there are parts of them which follow the same path. But there are others which are pretty old, at least to me. It feels different.”[1] In Decay maintains the same electropop funk music structure consisting of 1980s synthesizers, tough bass sounds and science fiction elements that was on Com Truise's previous releases.[4][5][6] In fact, some reviewers have described the songs on the LP as lo-fi,[7] "somewhat grittier,"[7] and "slightly rougher-around-the-edges" versions of the sound of the past records.[4] Ghostly's press release explains that the compilation is a document of Haley exploring parts of this sound, such as "8-bit influenced experimentalism" and "distinctly danceable beats."[6] Some tracks on In Decay are slow-tempo, calm-vibe dance songs, while others are extraterrestrial psychedelic cuts similar to the works of Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh.[6]

Patric Fallon of XLR8R highlighted In Decay's experimentation absent from what normally comes from the Com Truise project; examples include the minimal music structure of "Yxes" and the use of live bass guitar on the songs "Alfa Beach" and "Dreambender."[7] Pitchfork journalist Andrew Gaerig analyzed that while previous releases of Com Truise focused on Haley being able to skillfully wind synthesizer sounds "into pleasing shapes that his compositions can sound complex when they're not," In Decay is where drum sounds such as "grid-worshipping snares" "give him away" and go against "the more formed melodic ideas."[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Consequence of Sound	D[8]
Pitchfork	5.6/10[5]
Prefix	7.5/10[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[10]
XLR8R	7/10[7]

In Decay received mixed reviews from critics. Jonah Ollman of CMJ described the music as "lush," commended the synth soundscapes, and ultimately concluded that the album is "just as satisfying and cohesive as a proper sophomore album".[11] Fallon highlighted the unreleased tracks to have a certain "depth" not present in Com Truise's past distributed records.[7] A Prefix critic wrote that the lack of difference between the sound of each track is made up for by the album's overall "soundtrack-like quality" where "there’s no jarring transitions or pesky lyrics to tug at your attention too strongly."[9] He wrote that the LP's charm was the "evocative nature of the sounds."[9]

Ben Sullivan, reviewing for Tiny Mix Tapes, called it rare for a compilation album of tracks that were previously unreleased but still made before an act's first studio album to be better than said first album: "While it may obvious that Haley should now start to explore sounds and motifs exogenous to his coterie of synths, In Decay has an immediacy and satisfying mix that would only benefit an exploration of its hints of Negativland, mid-career DJ Shadow, and mid-2000s IDM."[10] He wrote that the best tracks of In Decay, the cuts "that really go places," are better than the greatest tracks on Galactic Melt.[10] One of his criticisms was the track lengths and the lack of "attention to sequencing" which led to problems like "rhythmic redundancies" on songs such as “Dreambender,” “Klymaxx,” and “Yxes.”[10] He wrote that "half of these tracks could end two minutes short of their run times."[10]

A common criticism pointed out in In Decay's mixed reviews was the LP's focus on repetition and the lack of "differentiation" in terms of tone and feel.[8][12] Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound wrote that, while he felt there was enough material for Com Truise fans to enjoy before the next release of the project, he called issuing a rarities compilation so early in the project's career a "strange choice, as it sets the bar low."[8] He criticized most of the tracks for how they build based on their repetition, writing that "the shapeshifting doesn’t always provide that large of a difference in tone from the original iteration."[8] He also disliked the hazy sound of the material, writing that it "can tend to overrun everything else, softening the edges of feelings that could otherwise be crushingly powerful."[8]

An Exclaim! critic wrote, "[Haley's] sonic ideas are circular lines constantly spiralling into themselves ― simple, looped melodies, a flourish here, a hazy sample there, lather, rinse, repeat ― but there's very little difference in tone to keep your attention."[12] Gaerig, who called the LP's songs "deceptively underdeveloped," "too dull and passive to threaten," and "baubles, pure sonic fetishes that that fail to provoke discernible imagery or mood beyond a noirish appreciation for the oscillators of Christmas past."[5] He wrote that "nothing here dispels the notion that [Haley's] vision is more limited" than other acts influenced by 1980s synthpop.[5]

Songwriting, production and album artwork by Seth Haley.[1]

1. "Open" – 4:12
2. "84' Dreamin" – 3:30
3. "Dreambender" – 4:20
4. "Controlpop" – 5:04
5. "Colorvision" – 4:04
6. "Alfa Beach" – 4:16
7. "Stop" – 5:07
8. "Klymaxx" – 4:24
9. "Yxes" – 3:52
10. "Smily Cyclops" – 4:44
11. "Video Arkade" – 5:27
12. "Data Kiss" – 4:08
13. "Closed" – 3:04