Recorded in Ty Segall‘s house, Into the Iris, the new EP by Flat Worms (Tim Hellman – bass and vocals, Will Ivy – guitar and vocals, Justin Sullivan – drums) is six tracks of fuzzy riffs that could jumpstart a car during the recent polar vortex.
“Surreal New Year” is an opening salvo of post-punk guitars mixed with drums that are more precise than you realize at first. I can’t help but wonder if the title track is a reference to Suspiria. The song is certainly chaotic enough in the last half to reflect a harrowing battle with an invisible witch. It’s all screaming, fuzzy guitars and breakneck beats.
Ivy’s opening guitars on “Plastic at Home” sound like a broken xylophone being thrown down a flight of stairs – and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a song about how the glossy perfection of suburbia often disguises kinky vices and boiling resentment. Hellman and Sullivan are in especially fine sync throughout this whole track.
“Shouting at the Wall” was the first single. It opens with guitars that sound like alarms and then Sullivan goes wild to kick to the song into fifth gear. “Scattered Palms…” is post-punk psychedelia with Hellman’s bass doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the short instrumental. “At the Citadel” is like a lost Stooges track with its heavy bass, roaring drums, squeaking guitars, and snotty, bratty vocals.
Into the Iris packs more fuzz and power into six tracks than most full-length LPs will all year. Don’t miss it.
Keep your mind open.
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