Worthy Victims’ sophomore effort packs a decent punch and harkens back to the early, raw sound of hardcore. It’s fast-paced guitar, bass, drums and shouting not unlike the sweaty venues of the 80s, but there’s a sense this a live band whose energy isn’t quite captured on record.
The six songs contained on the EP are all to-the-point. Opener, ‘Performance’, builds up with a staccato of guitar and drums until it breaks into the steady beat. The tone is more akin to the guitars of thrash metal and Bad Brains than the low, gutsy chugs of Suicidal Tendencies. A good pointer for the kind of sound on display is in the chorus of ‘Breach Of Trust’ which sounds like it’s been ripped straight from ‘Zen Arcade’ era Husker Du and meshed with Ron Reyes’ stint in Black Flag.
Unfortunately, it does feel restrained. I can quite easily picture Worthy Victims throwing themselves around on stage and being a damn good live experience. I hear the ringing in my ears and see the bruises forming on my skin that I’ll surely regret in the morning. This EP sounds like a more confined version of that experience. It’s not a massive detriment but it does feel like the band isn’t doing enough justice to themselves. There’s a slight hollowness to the quality which just takes the edge off what could be a brutal sound.
There are genuine criticisms to be made of the lyrics. ‘A Bitter Future’ has a very 80s feel and while it does work from a musical perspective, the band has missed opportunities to give it a modern twist. On ‘Parasite’ noHan screams: “Every single bastard month your cheque comes through the door, addicted to cold cash, you’re always after more. You’re a parasite!”. Elsewhere, a verse for ‘Untouchables’ posits: “Teenager hacks a website, his life’s destroyed by corporate slime. For 140 characters, some kid is doing time”.
Ignoring some of the vile abuse said in 140 characters, the numerous breaches of court orders by the identification of people involved in criminal cases and the damage teenage hackers have done to private companies, the lyrics smack of mindless vitriol directed at anyone who is part of the capitalist system. Where the Dead Kennedys had a sense of humour and Bad Religion have a PhD awarded University lecturer for a lyricist, Worthy Victims just seem angry at the Tories. It’s fair and valid to criticise the class structure but there’s a distinct lack of personality or reasoning to it.
‘A Bitter Future’ is an EP formed around the heyday of 80s hardcore. There are hallmarks of the era and, musically, there’s a good blast to be had but it never really moves on from that. It’s one-note and seems much better suited to a live gig.
ASHLEY PARTRIDGE