Album Review: Speedy Ortiz’s Twerpe Verse Faces Society’s Fear
Says lead singer Sadie Dupuis, “Social politics and protest have been a part of our music from day one, and I didn’t want to stop doing that on this album.” Speedy Ortiz’s Twerpe Verse shines as a record because it shows rhythm is the key to revolution. Your body moves where your soul does, and if your body feels good in movement then your soul will move towards the better.
From Lily Allen to Sylvan Esso, modern women/ artists have moved social empowerment through images and sounds that feel too bright to embrace darkness, but yet that is EXACTLY what they do and should do. Buzzed, fuzzed, fizzed, snapped, and snazzed; absolutely every melody in Speedy Ortiz’s album feels popped with shades of cool discord. Similar to The Zombies or Garbage, Speedy Ortiz grunges pop to fill their lyrics with social grudges. I firmly believe that Trump not simply because people are dumb or prejudice, but because people are anxious and scared. That does not excuse self-destruction or hatefulness, but it does explain why it keeps on popping up. In may ways, Speedy Ortiz speak to this view.
From the moody “Villain” to the raucous “I’m Blessed” or from the gothic “Moving In” to the synth-sullen romance of “Can I Kiss You?”, Twerp Verse shows that an individual’s anxiety and the fear of things going wrong leads you to making sure they do. Thus, if society is just a mass of paranoid individuals, of course, it will manifest that paranoia systemically. Society reflects people as much as people reflect society. Dupuis’ voice drips like black tar on concrete drums and guitars throughout tracks, “Buck Me Off”, “Sport Death”, and “You Hate The Title”. She is liquid grimness, and captivates listeners with her ability to make hopelessness seem as fluid as it feels. Yet, she only sings to the issues she believes can be resolved, and anxiety has resolutions.
I used to think that happiness came in moments, and contentment was the goal. Yet, I realized that happiness is the goal and contentment or sadness should be the ones fleeting in moment. Perspective is key to how a minds works and thus how a society thinks, which can be seen in “Lucky 88” and “Alone With Girls”. Hence, Twerp Verse tries to change your mind to preserves you heart/humanity. For More Information On Speedy Ortiz Click Here.
