Some bands play raw, noisy garage punk because that's all they know how to do. That's not the case with
Flat Worms -- these guys do it because they like it -- and on their debut album, they play crude, fuzzed-out music that manages to sound simple and smart at the same time.
Flat Worms is the brainchild of
Will Ivy, who was a member of Bridez,
Wet Illustrated, and Dream Boys. While working on a solo project, he got a hankering to turn up the amps and make some noise, and the result was
Flat Worms, a quick blast of rock action that roars with gleeful release.
Ivy is clearly having a ball blasting out some simple punk rock guitar lines run through one truly gnarly distortion pedal, but
Ivy and his bandmates -- former
Oh Sees bassist Tim Hellman and
Babies drummer Justin Sullivan -- have strong enough chops to make these tunes sound dirty but precise, full of grit but not sloppy in the least. These ten songs are elemental, but the band puts the pieces together with genuine imagination, and the lyrics are memorably moody and contemplative, proto-sci-fi visions of a world turned sideways. More than once
Flat Worms recall California punk legends
100 Flowers, another band of guys who were too smart to play dumb music but just smart enough to not let their brains gum up the works. Given that all three of these guys have other gigs, it's hard to say if
Flat Worms will be an ongoing project or just a one-off, but given the strength of this album, this trio could be the working vacation
Ivy and his pals could use every few years. ~ Mark Deming