Worriers
Imaginary Life
Don Giovanni (2015)
I’ve reviewed a lot of records now from Lauren Denitzio’s bands. First, The Measure [SA], and then Cruel Optimist, her current band’s first release. Over those records the sound hasn’t changed so much as it’s grown. The songs are now fuller and deeper. With Worriers specifically, though still in a relatively small sample size, the songs also seem less chorus … Read more
Worriers
Survival Pop
Side One Dummy (2017)
It seems like Worriers nailed down their sound on day one, when they rose from the ashes of The Measure S.A.. The Lauren Denitzio-fronted group plays a melodic and quirky style of indie-poppish-punk. On Survival Pop, that sound takes a stronger pop turn, with ear-pleasing hooks paired to politically-charged and empowering lyricism. In many ways, this record is a call … Read more
Worriers
Trust Your Gut
Ernest Jenning (2023)
Worriers, fronted by Lauren Denitzio, is an ongoing evolution. It’s earnest, personal and explorative, and the newest album Trust Your Gut continues that journey as Denitzio puts everything out there for their audience. The music is consistently emotional and relatable while being clearly rooted in personal experience. The magic of the entire Worriers catalog is how Denitzio manages to be … Read more
Worriers
You or Someone You Know
6131 (2020)
If it weren’t for playing in a certain scene, Worriers would likely be branded as a pop band instead of punk. The band is DIY all the way, with a growing discography, plus a back catalogue of previous bands dating into the early 2000s. As the project has grown since debut Cruel Optimist, it’s shifted more and more pop in … Read more
Worthwhile Way
Love Is All
ADD Records (2013)
Worthwhile Way play positive punk. No bones about it, the title Love Is All isn’t some ironic statement, the band brings an upbeat, happy sound that’s typically devoid from almost any subgenre of music. Mayu’s lead vocals convey a pep that meets the bouncy rhythms of Chege with some powerful ’77-style guitars to bring it all home.For a basic sound, … Read more
Wovenhand
The Threshingfloor
Sounds Familyre (2011)
After taking some nighttime cold medicine and falling asleep to Lawrence of Arabia, you awaken bleary-eyed alongside an endless stretch of desert highway, the endlessly distant horizon broken up only by the vague figures of far off mesas. Stumbling to your feet, you lurch past the desiccated remains of an antique cantina just as a dirt-crusted radio sputters to life … Read more
Wow, Owls! / The Setup
Split 7"
The Perpetual Motion Machine/ Life in a Box (2005)
Richmond, Virginia has a lush history when it comes to hardcore bands over the last fifteen years. From Avail to Count Me Out, and as of late Municipal Waste and Stop It!!!, Richmond has always been fertile ground for young hardcore bands. On this split seven inch, two of Richmond's more stylistically diverse bands, The Setup and Wow, Owls! put … Read more
Wreath
Wreath EP
New Grenada (2020)
One era that continues to be emulated is the ambiguous brand of post-hardcore often dubbed Revolution Summer. Wreath burst onto the scene last year out of the hotbed of whiskey-soaked punk music that is central Florida, the latest to give their own interpretation of the style. Their newly released debut self-titled EP quickly shows off its colors as rooted in … Read more
Wreck and Reference
Black Cassette
Music Ruins Lives (2011)
I’ll say this, Black Cassette from Wreck And Reference is good, real good; in fact, this debut has a bunch of people really going out of their way praising this “record” (OK, OK I know this is either on cassette tape or CD but stop hassling me and just listen for minute) and for good reason because the band eschews … Read more
Wrecking Crew
Balance of Terror (Reissue)
I Scream (2006)
Over the past decade or so "toughguy" hardcore has gotten more obnoxious by the second, but one of the bands that spawned this shitstorm, Madball, always had at least one thing going for them. This special ingredient was the combination of the pure catchiness of their riffs and their surprisingly tight sense of rhythm. Even though I am enough of … Read more
Wrekmeister Harmonies
Night of Your Ascension
Thrill Jockey (2015)
The musical collective led by J.R. Robinson has always been inventive when it came to the subjects of their sonic explorations. You've Always Meant So Much to Me was written to accompany a film that Robinson shot in various areas, including Detroit, the desert of Joshua Tree and the forests of Tasmania. The collaborators in this album helped greatly bring … Read more
Wrekmeister Harmonies
We Love To Look at the Carnage
Thrill Jockey (2020)
Wrekmeister Harmonies style is one that is hard to pin down and give a definitive name, yet the duo of JR Robinson and Esther Shaw do create music that is beautifully intimate and stark in equal measure. Latter day works are much more stripped back and streamlined, a change from the huge swells of sound that coloured earlier works and … Read more
Wristmeetrazor
Misery Never Forgets
Prosthetic (2019)
With a name like Wristmeetrazor could assume what you would be getting with this record before heading in and pressing play. While you may not be entirely wrong you would most certainly be partially wrong at best. While you could assume the record treads in emotionally raw lyrics and you would be correct but to also assume there is a … Read more
Wrnlrd
Death Drive
FSS (2010)
Ever hear of the term “outsider” music? I have certainly seen the term thrown around when referring to different albums or artists and never quite understood how or why that particular artist or record was graced with such a vague descriptor when attempting to relate the music to someone or an audience of some sort. Well, if ever there was … Read more
Wrnlrd
Myrmidon
FSS (2009)
Following the strange intriguing experience of Oneirmantical War, I felt that I had to check out Myrmidon from WRNLRD once it arrived; but instead of diving right into Myrmidon, I avoided it like the album was some dark door that I just did not want to open. Myrmidon sat for months on my desk as it sat, always visible out … Read more
Wrnlrd
Oneiromantical War
FSS (2008)
Wrnlrd drops a dense black metal album on listeners with this limited LP and digital album, Oneiromantical War - which I believe is the sixth album from the outfit. Now, in my growing education in black metal, this is my introduction to Wrnlrd, and it certainly provides me intrigue as the record mastering is the work of Bob Weston of … Read more
Wrong
Wrong
Relapse (2016)
Coming out of Miami, Wrong rose from the ashes of hardcore/punk band Capsule, who released a couple of great albums, including their self-titled record and Blue, before calling it quits. Well, Eric Hernandez (guitars and vocals) bounced back brilliantly, forming the new band, with the inclusion of Ryan Haft (previously of Torche) on guitars, Andres Ascanio on bass and Brian … Read more
Wrong Day to Quit
Vicissitudes
Exotic Fever (2006)
It's a fact of life that hardcore bands, especially those involved with the late 90's screamo era, love to break up. They play a tour or so, leave us without about an hour worth of music, and then they're done. School, jobs, and families understandably take priority, and the band ceases to be. But the great thing about this scene … Read more
