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"Few Left Standing" Wormwood |
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I'm not quite ready to propel them to the top of the Hard-Core heap just yet, but they're fast approaching. Wormwood builds well on the innovation of Stretch Armstrong's "Ritual Of Life" LP from a few years back, one of the most aggressively fast and melodically up-tempo records that really helped define and design a new approach to making Hard-Core music more than we've expected it to be. Incorporating slick lead breaks and sequential slants within a consistently pounding heaviness, Wormwood treads where few have dared so that "Burn Me To The Ground" and a song like "The Latest Fad," or "No Apology" pack the necessary fist-clenching immediacy and propel themselves into more traditionally-inspired musicality. They do this by way of distinctly individualist intros, catchy harmonies, expanded bridges and anthemic choruses, each song, building on the strength of the other, extending a sense of character, subtly charming under a scowling demeanor. The rebirth of Hard-Core is upon us and Wormwood will measure up against many of the best, past and present, and open new doors for the innovative Memphis mudslingers who will undoubtedly prove to be one of the "Few Left Standing" when the smoke of stagnation finally clears. Released by Solid State Records Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] P.O. Box 20252
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