Speedy Ortiz - "Twerp Verse"

Speedy Ortiz have been making some big waves the last few years in the world of Noisy Indie Rock and 90's nostalgia.  And for me, no, it hasn't been fun.  Their 2013 debut "Major Arcana" is an absolute snooze fest to the highest extent.  Sure, when things got noisier and heavier with "No Below" and "Gary" I woke up a bit.  But this album was desperate for attention and suffocating in their own influences.  And man, if I'm being honest 2015's "Foil Deer" wasn't exactly much better.  I mean yea, the Indie influences on "The Graduates", the grooves on "Puffer" and the Punk energy of "Swell Content" made for some truly great tracks.  But the rest of this album was borderline obnoxious.  I have no problem with a band going for a retro sort of flair, that's all fine and dandy.  But when that's literally the entire selling point for a band, there are some major issues.  Whats ironic though is that I actually really didn't mind frontwoman Sadie Dupuis's solo album at all.  As a matter of fact, I found the more Pop-Oriented approach to be actually really charming.  But call me crazy, but Speedy Ortiz seems to be heading more in that more Pop-oriented direction, and I've actually really enjoyed these singles.  Let's chat about this album, shall we?

This album starts off with “Buck Me Off”, and right off the bat, I am so much more into this than anything Speedy Ortiz has ever done.  It’s not just reverb-soaked guitars, there’s actually a really solid tune underneath all of these instrumentals.  While the instrumentals are still begging to go back in time to Grunge era, this is easily some of the catchiest material Speedy Ortiz have touched.  Not to mention, it gives Sadie more of a chance to shine, which is fantastic.  Plus, if you listened to her solo project, you’ll absolutely see shades of what she was doing on that album.  “Buck Me Off” is catchy, and get’s really out fo control by the end.  I really want to hear more of this Noise Pop material.  “Lean In When I Suffer” gets a little bit rougher, but I can’t tell you how stripping this material down a little has really helped.  I love Sadie’s biting lyrics, and the almost Bubblegum Pop lurking deep down.  Which, in a way, I feel like has always sort of been there.  But let me tell you, it’s never sounded this good.  Now, I still don’t know if I’m crazy for these very jagged verses still.  But “Lean In When I Suffer” is still incredibly likable, and I love just how bouncy and catchy this is.  “Lucky 88” is up next, and the more melodic style that Speedy Ortiz is going for continues to do wonders.  Now, Sadie isn’t the most incredible vocalist I’ve heard, and some of her high notes are a little awkward.  But let’s talk about this track because it’s absolutely dominated by Synths.  Now, that’s a far cry from where we left Speedy Ortiz.  It works, however, because this track comes off really quirky and bubbly, and I actually really dig it.  Now, I hate to say it, but “Can I Kiss You” is the sort of track where I’m sort of missing what the band is going for.  I still think Sadie’s performance and lyrics are right where they should be.  But this instrumental sounds like a Frankenstein’s Monster of modern Alternative.  It hops back and forth between noisy guitars and bubbly synths, and it all just sort of comes out like a much.  Tracks like this make me so iff on the future of this band.  And it’s a shame because the melodies certainly stick with you here. 

Up next is “Backslidin’”, and uh, what happened to that more Pop direction?  Because that’s far from what this is.  This just sort of sounds like a rehashing of everything on the first two Speedy Ortiz albums.  And it’s just so uninteresting.  Nothing about “Backslidin’” is catchy, or memorable, it’s just more of the same jumbled mess of nostalgia.  And you may be totally into that, but for me, this is album is going South FAST.  Even Sadie just sounds so incredibly bored with this one.  But I actually really do love the atmosphere and pounding drums on “Villain”.  And while these verses are still a little hard to place, I’m more interested in this one.  Plus, Sadies Performance is sort of mysterious and shadowy, which I’m very much into as well.  For one of the more Rock oriented tunes here, “Villain” is all gravy.  And even though this has some seriously bizarre lyrics, let’s be real, Sadie makes it adorable.   No, on the other hand “I’m Blessed” is something we really haven’t heard from Speedy Ortiz.  This is dark and chaotic sounding.  And while this sort of picks up into a pretty standard Rock tune from these guys, the heavier atmosphere of this one is actually really different and interesting.  I still feel like song structure is something the band needs to focus on because these verses are a bit sloppy.  But overall this track has enough catchy and interesting elements to make it work.  The solo is nice, and the synths looming constantly is really great.  It’s also seriously hypnotic in parts.  But man, when “I’m Blessed” slows down even further and gets even heavier, it just gets more and more interesting.  But seriously, where did that energy and Pop sense go?  Sure, if you literally don’t care about melody or basic songwriting at all, you’re going to eat up “Sport Death”.  I’m all for some noisy, raucous jams.  But guess what, it still has to actually sound good.  Sadie thankfully still has enough charisma to actually make this sort of listenable.  But “Sport Death” is an absolute sham, especially after how decent and genuinely refreshing some of the early tunes were.  

Now, by this point in the album it’s gotten to the point where I’m actually much more into the slower paced tracks like “Alone with Girls”.   I mean, just for the sake of getting a little structure, this is actually really great.  It’s a hypnotic tune, it’s just catchy enough, and it’s actually pretty adorable in parts.  Even instrumentally this one is overly decent and just exciting enough to make things exciting.   Then we have “Moving In” which caught me off guard with its very shimmering intro.  And not too shocking, it does lead to something interesting.  Like, I haven’t heard this much genuine structure and an atmosphere like this on a Speedy Ortiz track ever.  I love the groove here, and those synths in the back continue to be a massively successful base for these tracks.  There are some groovy licks and some space keyboards, and it’s all great.  And once again, deep down, yes folks that’s a Pop song.  An adorable one at that, and I really couldn’t be happier.   “You Hate The Title” is the sort of super cheery, bubbly track that I wasn’t expecting to end this album off.  But it’s super pleasant and one of the nicer surprises here.  Here, there are no obnoxious guitar or effects in sight.  Nope, it’s just Sadie, some synths, and vocals.  And to be honest, it’s one of the more genuinely likable tracks here.  Sure, if you’re a Speedy Ortiz fan, in general, this may be terrifying, but these guys have officially got my attention. 

Rating: 7.9/10

Give A Listen To: "Buck Me Off", "Lucky 88", "You Hate The Title", "Moving In"

Genre: Noise Pop / Alternative Rock / Indie Rock / "Grunge"

Overall Thoughts: Personally, I've never seen the hype around Speedy Ortiz.  Their entire career for me has blurred together with a serious of overly desperate and noisy guitar solos and way way waaaaaay too much nostalgia.  Grunge ended for a reason boys and girls.  But in a shocking twist, Speedy Ortiz here have traded in Nostalgia and Guitars for Synths and a more Noise Pop approach.  And for me, someone who's never been able to sit through a Speedy Ortiz album, this is a welcome and exciting change.  There are still some sloppy, overly nostalgic tunes sprinkled here and there.  But the rest of this album is cleverly written yet still Noisy Pop.  This is far from the band's masterpiece and it's going to aggravate plenty of people.  But for me, I'm actually excited to hear the future of Speedy Ortiz now.