Twerp Verse

AlbumApr 27 / 201811 songs, 35m 35s
Indie Rock
Popular

"Necessary brattiness" is the motto in Speedy Ortiz’s dauntless new collection of songs, "Twerp Verse." The follow-up to 2015's "Foil Deer," the band's latest indie rock missive is prompted by a tidal wave of voices, no longer silent on the hurt they’ve endured from society's margins. But like many of these truth-tellers, songwriter, guitarist and singer Sadie Dupuis scales the careful line between what she calls being "outrageous and practical" in order to be heard at all. "You need to employ a self-preservational sense of humor to speak truth in an increasingly baffling world," says Dupuis. "I call it a ‘twerp verse' when a musician guests on a track and says something totally outlandish – like a Lil Wayne verse – but it becomes the most crucial part. This record is our own twerp verse, for those instances when you desperately need to stand up and show your teeth.” "Twerp Verse" was tracked in Brooklyn DIY space Silent Barn, mixed by Omaha legend Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley) and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Emily Lazar (Sia, Haim, Beck). The record pulls from the most elastic pop moments in Squeeze's Argybargy and the seesawing synth-rock of Deerhoof and the Rentals. With Dupuis on guitars, vocals, and synths, supporting guitarist Andy Molholt (of psych pop outfit Laser Background) now joins Speedy veterans Darl Ferm on bass and Mike Falcone on drums – and together they accelerate the band's idiosyncrasy through the wilderness of Dupuis' heady reflections on sex, lies and audiotape. Dupuis, who both earned an MFA in poetry and taught at UMass Amherst, propels the band's brain-teasing melodies with her serpentine wit. Inspired by the cutting observations of Eve Babitz, Aline Crumb's biting memoirs, and the acute humor of AstroPoet Dorothea Lasky, Dupuis craftily navigates the danger zone that is building intimacy and political allyship in 2018. Now as public pushback against the old guards reaches a fever pitch – in the White House, Hollywood and beyond – the band fires shots in disillusioned Gen Y theme "Lucky 88," and casts a side-eye towards suitors-turned-monsters in the cold-blooded single "Villain." Closing track "You Hate The Title" is a slinky traipse through the banality of this current moment in patriarchy – in which survivors are given the mic, but nitpicked over the timbre of their testimonies. "You hate the title, but you’re digging the song," Dupuis sings wryly, "You like it in theory, but it’s rubbing you wrong." Tuned smartly to the political opacity of the present, "Twerp Verse" rings clear as a bell.

85

7.4 / 10

Speedy Ortiz’s third album is wry, acerbic, and full of hidden hooks. The songwriting of singer-guitarist Sadie Dupuis has hit a new peak of clarity.

C

Grouper’s Grid Of Points finds the artist at her most vulnerable, while Dr. Dog loses momentum on Critical Equation, and Okkervil River’s In The Rainbow Rain is pretty but a little schmaltzy. These, plus Speedy Ortiz in this week’s notable new releases.

Speedy Ortiz's third album finds them making sense of turbulent times – but feeling more playful than ever

7 / 10

The most listener-friendly and accessible that Speedy Ortiz have ever been.

7.8 / 10

Succinct, wry, and in tune with its context, there’s plenty to unpick.

Rising pop star Anne-Marie releases a debut album jam-packed with infectious, dance-worthy bangers, while Willie Nelson mourns departed friends on ‘Last Man Standing’

Speedy Ortiz have never been shy about being politically active.

Twerp Verse is a polished, sonically inventive record that’s both playful and punchy, but its purpose feels unclear.

7 / 10

Twerp Verse is a solid entry that should please fans of Speedy Ortiz and might also gain them some new ones with its hints of pop. The guita...

7.0 / 10

With the success of their previous album Foil Deer, Speedy Ortiz seemed to conclusively cross over from having been a band beloved by a discerning but rabid relatively few into being a big deal.

7 / 10

Musically the new album from Speedy Ortiz may have more in common with Sadie Dupuis’ home demos but lyrically its message is all about engagement with the wider world.

9 / 10

In emulation of the album itself, let's skip the preamble and get right to the heart of this — Twerp Verse, the third LP from Massachusetts quartet...

8.0 / 10

'Twerp Verse' by Speedy Ortiz: Speedy Ortiz make an emotional record that won't be for everyone in our review of 'Twerp Verse'

60 %

Lacks the sort of catharsis that Speedy Ortiz really need.

Album Reviews: Speedy Ortiz - Twerp Verse