Portland, Maine’s raucous alt-punk trio theWorst, has returned with their third studio release, a four-song EP entitled Quiet the Gods, released in early November. Led by bandleader Brooke Binion, the EP contains all of the classic sonic trademarks that helped the band make a splash with their first two critically acclaimed albums, Jane Doe Embryo (2017) and Yes Regrets (2022), the latter featuring compelling contributions from members of Morphine, and the Distillers. But Quiet the Gods also takes a giant leap forward in the evolution of the band’s songwriting, arrangements, and production, and this leap is especially evident in the lyricism and composition in this new batch of songs written by Binion.
The old saying goes, “If you play with fire, you get burnt.” Irrefutable logic, but on theWorst’s “Hackles,” the young punk trio scorches the listener with searing distorted guitars but tends to the wounds with chilling vocal melodies. The band crafted a concoction of punk’s past and future by manipulating tropes into a dense wall of sound that hits you square in the chest upon pressing play. “Hackles” is not aimless angst for the sake of screaming; every throat-scratching vocal shift and minuscule change is intentional and urgent. Without hesitation, the band throws you into a thrashing sonic flash mob that moves as a unit as the chugging tempos feel like you are uncontrollably tumbling down an endless hill. With a hook that provides a few seconds of relief from the punk onslaught, “Hackles” positions theWorst as punk provocateurs hellbent on making the genre their own. With only a few projects under their belt, theWorst fearlessly crashes on the punk scene with a refreshing take showcasing their nuanced approach to melodies and subtly poetic songwriting.
“The last album was a giant apology. This EP is looking back at everything and seeing how people and places change,” explains Binion. “Mostly looking back at everything and just feeling like, ‘Whoa, what happened?’ These songs are about connections to people and places and how they morph and how I just didn’t see that coming.”
