Canadian Sludge Duo FRANKLIN Streams Their New Album Decay, Leaves No Survivors

I saw FRANKLIN at Viva Sounds 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden and I’m not sure my bones have ever quite reset to their original positions. The duo – featuring Kirsty Wells and Evan Joel – play a particularly nasty and stripped-down version of sludge that every single one of you needs to hear. So not only are we streaming FRANKLIN‘s new record Decay below in full (which you need to get for yourself right here), but the band provided a breakdown of all their songs too!

“NLMD”

Unconventional as it may be to begin a debut album with a cover song, we thought the lyrical spirit about taking a chance with someone you care for (along with the fact that FRANKLIN began by playing covers from this era) made “Never Let Me Down Again” (renamed “NLMD” on this record) an appropriate fit. Kirsty loves 80’s new wave tunes and is a huge Depeche Mode fan, with this being their favourite song by the band. We love when a cover song doesn’t sound like the original so we set out to make this one our own.

“Destroyer”

Destroyer is a song about time, and how its impending fate-like clutches dismantle all things: hopes, fears, growth, and life alike. Humans are obsessed with time…the abundance of it, or the lack thereof. We worship at its altar and are somehow eternally surprised when it inevitably comes for us, plowing a path of destruction over everything we build – for better or for worse.

“Shark”

Shark gnaws like serrated teeth in your gut, and cuts straight to the neck. During the writing process, we began to explore using multiple amps to mimic the dynamics of having a third person on the track. With drive-y drum riffs and haunting harmonies written by Evan, accompanied by gut-wrenching chorus vocals, you’re dragged through the frigid waters with barely a breath left to keep you hanging on, until its manic ending finishes the job itself.

“Arrival”

The lyrics and intro bass riff of “Arrival” were, in part, written by 15-year-old angsty Kirsty. Collaboration between the two of us polished it and brought it into the FRANKLIN universe. It serves as a place to put the listlessness (or even the luxurious nihilism) we experience while looking at all the overwhelming greed and brutal destruction happening throughout the world. Arrival works through accepting all of this while leaving the listener’s story unfinished, so we remain suspended in tension instead of having a resolve or a path forward handed to us.

“Queen’s Revenge”

Written in response to local bigotry in a small town, “Queens Revenge” was meant to be a frustrated scream, an allied call to action, and a spell of protection for those in our communities who are most marginalized: trans and queer people, especially BIPOC and two-spirited folks. The writing process for this song was a long one, and it involved several stages and variations before landing on the final arrangement. We wanted the vocals in the last half of the song to sound more dynamic, so we asked powerhouse Sarinn Blawatt (Alien Boys) to lend their voice to the bridge harmonies and the growly end bits.

“Smolder”

Slow-burning but all the more crushing for it, “Smolder” is the antithesis of hope. Inspired by the bleakness of constant forest fires on Canada’s west-coast, it calls the listener to give in, burn everything down, and salt the earth on which they stand. It begs the question: will you rebuild and trudge forward, or let desolation root itself into an open wound?

“Vitriol”

The first original FRANKLIN song! Evan wrote the instrumentation, and Kirsty wrote the vocal melodies and lyrics. While writing the drum parts for the track in their jam space, Evan heard bells from a nearby church and was inspired to include them in the bridge.

“Olas”

After a ten-year bass-hiatus, Kirsty started learning the bass riff to this boppy tune and after jamming it with Evan to “doom it down”, it eventually became THE song that started our project, FRANKLIN. The lead vocal track we ended up using was done in one take and only intended to be Kirsty’s scratch track, but we all decided that the energy and delivery (even with its minor flaws) was unmatched by the takes that followed. Every time they play the song live, Kirsty visualizes screaming it at shit talkers.

“Backed Into A Corner”

Evan wrote a song playing with lurching bass riffs punctuated by punchy drums, inspired by the energy felt at intimate local punk shows. Then, after a frustrating day of constant misunderstandings, Kirsty sat in a vehicle pullout on their way home from work and wrote the lyrics and vocal melody over Evan’s idea in one fell swoop. The screaming vocals in the bridge were added during recording at Rain City, and were originally meant to be done solo by dear pal Dan And (Bison); he took the liberty of doing them as a call and response with Kirsty, which turned out really cool.

“Black Circles”

Ultimately this song is about persistence in the face of adversity, which feels – put plainly – really gross and heavy, like treading water. During the initial writing stages of the track, the bridge bass lines felt like old Black Sabbath tunes, and the verse riffs felt very Russian Circles, hence the name “Black Circles”. While recording with Greg, we kept rolling for almost three minutes after the final chorus while Kirsty manipulated bass-feedback. We liked it so much that we decided to add it to the end of the song, ushering in a calming tide after the chaos.