On May 10, student a capella group the Dartmouth Decibelles released their new album “Decisions.” It is the sixth album created by the Decis and is a culmination of three years of recording, featuring singers going back to the Class of 2022. The Dartmouth sat down with Decis president Eliza Goodyear ’26, who has been part of the historically-female group since her freshman year.
What inspired the theme or concept of this new album?
EG: It’s a compilation of the past three years of recording. We record every year, featuring the solos of the current seniors. So this album was a combination of the senior solos from the ’22s, the ’23s and the ’24s. We record every spring — it’s always so fun and it’s definitely a grind for that half a week.
I remember in the spring last year everyone was throwing around album names that were puns on Decibelles, which is always hilarious. People threw out the most random, terrible choices, and “Decisions” kind of stuck. I think we liked that it was very open ended, and that it wasn’t so obviously a pun. It was like, ‘Okay, this actually sounds kind of cool.’
How did you celebrate the release of the album?
EG: We have this tradition, that we actually just started last year, that’s a fundraiser. We call it Dressy Deci, and we recommend a donation of like $5 to come. We all wear pretty spring dresses [and] we auction off a couple of solos. It’s always super fun and successful. We wanted to time the release [of the album] with Dressy Deci and make it kind of our album release party.
How does this album differ from previous work by the Decis?
EG: Just technically speaking, we sound better than we’ve ever sounded. I think the work of such awesome musical directors — Marisa Natarajan ’23, and then Sophie Saraisky ’25, and then now with [music director] Hannah Brooks ’26 — as leadership has [us] on such an upward trajectory. It’s been really special to watch that. Everyone in this group, and in previous iterations of the group that I’ve been present for, has been so dedicated. And in that way, this album is a great example of how we’ve grown.
Do you have a favorite track on the album?
EG: It’s like choosing your favorite child. I think the Survivor, I Will Survive mashup is my favorite. It was arranged by one of my really close friends Isabel LeWitt ’24, who graduated last year. Isabel is a bit notorious for these super complicated arrangements. She’s so musically talented. She’s so smart, and I think [it] was such a labor of love in terms of us all learning it. The final product was literally so, so fun to sing [and] to perform. Once we nailed it, it was so satisfying.
What was your favorite performance this year, and what made it stand out?
EG: My true favorite always is the senior show, [during] which all the seniors do their solos. It’s so special to watch them shine. People’s parents will come — it’s really cool. We just did that this past weekend. Everyone sobs. It’s so sad because we’ll sing “Rivers and Roads” which [is a] very sensitive, sad song. And then we do our classic, “Take It To The Limit,” which we do at the end of a lot of shows. It’s kind of our Deci tradition. We’ve had that arrangement, I think, since the group’s inception. It’s sort of our special song; it’s passed down through oral tradition. It’s usually the first song that you learn as an incoming Dec. I have goosebumps talking about it; it’s so special. Instead of [standing in] our typical “chip” — which is our little arc — we all stand in a row, all together and embrace a little bit. It’s really special. So that was gut-wrenching; I was sobbing. But [it was] really special and really cool to watch.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
