Seattle never seems short on musical talent, and as is common in many cities with a wealth of musical talent, members often find themselves converging with others in the scene to form ‘super bands.’ Wimps, a budding trio with some great releases already, combines members of Meth Teeth, Butts and The Intelligence into one quick ride of punchy, lo-fi post punk. Not so surprisingly, considering their moniker, Wimps takes their wordplay the self-deprecating route by referencing common struggles, lethargy and the general ennui of their lives.
“Vampire” leads the album off with an atypical drum fill before the repetitive, hypnotic singing that is met with speedy punk and bouncing bass lines. “Dump,” a song about a not-so-inviting residence, brings the pace down, but it is still covered in clever bass work and an underlying melodic yet scrappy punk energy. This goes into one of the most vocally forceful tunes here, the layered and nearly shouting “Couches.” Near the halfway point, the band gets louder and fuller with “Dave’s Babes,” while they sound quirky and almost like a soundtrack to a spy movie on “Suitcase.”
The second half of the album might be more interesting than the first half, with the nearly pop-punk feel of “Book People,” the infectious guitars of “Capitol Hill” and the clever lyrics to “Old Guy,” which any aging rock ‘n’ roller can relate to. “Basement,” the best song here, bookends the album. At one of the longest tracks (surpassing three minutes), it’s a droning, experimental closer with off-kilter guitars and crashing percussion that often seems like three different songs playing simultaneously.
There are 12 songs here and a third of them don’t even hit the two-minute mark. If one’s not your cup of tea, well, it’s just several blinks until another one. However, for fans of this type of back to basics, primitive DIY punk, there’s really no filler here necessary to skip over.
