Labels: Bart Records/Good Post Day Records/L'Oeil Du Tigre/The Ghost Is Clear Records/Titan Mega Corporation/Zegema Beach Records
Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital
Release Date: 19 Jan 2016
Tracklist:
1. Immoral Inventory (Or Life As We Blow It)
2. Meowing As A Contribution
3. Waking Up Bummed Out After A Sweet Jetpack Dream
4. C.H.U.Dgment Day
I'm taking a break from feature planning (I'm expanding my repertoire thanks in part, to a band that's actually taken the time to answer some interview questions!). The first feature is coming on Friday and more will follow. Before then, I thought I'd fit in a review or two to keep things going, as I'm still way behind where I was at this time last year numbers wise.
This one is another in my ongoing Zegema Beach Records roster review series and it features Canadian band Worst Gift, and their 2015/16 EP Shitty Loser Riffs. The release date above relates to when ZBR helped with a vinyl pressing, but it was self-released digitally by the band back in May 2015, before a tape release via Bart Records and that vinyl pressing from all of the other labels mentioned above. Aside from this EP, Worst Gift released their first EP Yard Meat in 2014 and then their only album World's Worst in 2017, before disappearing.
Worst Gift describe themselves as ‘Dave Mustaine-Ish’ on their bandcamp page and I’m not really sure how to take that. I don’t think they (are or) were the sort of people who fell out with every member they inducted into the band and their music doesn’t sound heavy metal-like on EP opener ‘Immoral Inventory (Life As We Blow It)’. It’s of the emo/screamo variety with a leaning towards lengthier songs, which are filled with melodic/jangly guitars, more than decent low-end/percussion and multi vocal layers that are shouty.
The amusingly titled ‘Meowing As A Contribution’ is a strangely soothing post-hardcore song that makes use of cleaner vocals and garage/art-punk influences. It’s not upbeat in a happy sense, with Worst Gift choosing instead to go down a darker root, much like that of post-punk bands. That may seem at odds with how I initially described it, but as it gets progressively louder and more chaotic, there seems to be no room for happy sentiment.
The pace is switched up on ‘Waking Up Bummed Out After A Sweet Jetpack Dream’ as Worst Gift goes even more off-kilter. There’s a lot more punk to this band than immediately meets the eye and it’s on show here. They’re equally suited to the slower, moodier sound and the faster, rhythmic one too. That’s a hard thing to pull off, as it can get lost in the transition sometimes.
EP closer ‘C.H.U.Dgment Day’ (brilliant title!) is one final long-player at nearly eight minutes long but it doesn’t mope around at all. Instead they lavish upon the listener one final instalment of glistening punk/post-hardcore that shows how much they love playing music, while living every moment of it. Music is something that should be constantly discovered no matter how old it is. That’s kind of what this review series is all about and Worst Gift could be the best gift you’ve never had. Jump in!
You can stream and purchase the EP digitally as well as on vinyl directly form Worst Gift below:-
Worst Gift - https://www.facebook.com/worstgiftever
You can also grab physical copies from the labels below:-
Bart Records - https://revolutionwinter.storenvy.com/
The Ghost Is Clear Records - http://theghostisclearrecords.limitedrun.com/
Zegema Beach Records - CAN/INTL - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/ / USA - https://zbrusa.com/
Bart Records - https://www.facebook.com/Bart-Records-Revolution-Winter
Good Post Day Records - https://www.facebook.com/goodpostdayrecords
The Ghost Is Clear Records - https://www.facebook.com/TGICRECS
Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords
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