I couldn’t have asked for a better
introduction to Seattle’s Wimps than their lunacy-inducing New Year’s Eve set
at the Comet (alongside Monogamy Party, Haunted Horses and Ubu Roi). I had
already downloaded their E.P, but didn’t really have
any idea of what to expect from a live show. Happily, I spent the all too brief
set crashing around to songs about the joys of napping and workplace frustration (not to mention avoiding Matt’s flailing bass neck), and when it was
all over I had not only avoided that nasty sense of false introspection the
Eve usually instills, but I had also found a new favorite band.
Wimps, which consist of Rachel
Ratner (guitar/vocals), Matt Nyce (bass/vocals), and Dave Ramm (drums) deal in an awesomely stark, surf-tinged
punk aesthetic, but that’s not what makes them special. What sets this group
apart from the saturated DIY-punk community is their blistering energy and Nyce
and Ratner’s clever, howling delivery of seemingly simple lyrical themes. Punk
is not unaccustomed to songs (and whole records) based on topics like banality
or anxiety, but where much of punk imparts that all too familiar “I’m about to
crack” feel, Wimps songs have a sense of DEVO-esque maniacal humor that says,
“meh… so what?” In addition, there is a subtle architecture to songs like the
title track of their new record, “Repeat”, which is hard not to love (listen below). That song,
whose lyrics read, “When your life seems stuck on repeat/Eat sleep, eat sleep,
eat sleep” is transformed from a good song into a great song by awesome touches
like cyclic rhythm lines and vocal parroting. Their first full length was just released on End of Time Records yesterday and you can listen to "Repeat" below. Come see them at Black Lodge on the 26th with The Trashies and more!
In the spirit of the new year, I asked
Rachael for a 2012 list to share with you, and here it is:
Top 5 Wimps moments of 2012
1. Attempting to dry underpants in a motel microwave and instead lighting them
on fire
2. Meeting Richie K, the guy who drew the Dookie album cover. He was really nice.
3. Spending a sunny afternoon in Dolores Park, SF
4. Swimming in every hole we could find
5. Endless hours of the most insulting inter-band free style rap battles imaginable
2. Meeting Richie K, the guy who drew the Dookie album cover. He was really nice.
3. Spending a sunny afternoon in Dolores Park, SF
4. Swimming in every hole we could find
5. Endless hours of the most insulting inter-band free style rap battles imaginable
