Speedy Ortiz “Twerp Verse”

We actually came to Speedy Ortiz via the solo release of their singer under the guise of Sad13. We loved her release (see our review here) and that led us to investigate Speedy Ortiz. Not surprisingly we loved their previous releases so were keen to check out their latest release.

Speedy Ortiz offer up a more raucous and indie/alternative sound than when compared to Sad13. There’s a grungy riff to “Buck Me Off” and songs like “Backslidin’” are delivered with a punchy rock sound. It’s no surprise that those songs and “Can I Kiss You” recall great US alternative acts like Juliana Hatfield (poss more Blake Babies era), The Lemonheads or maybe Rilo Kiley.

That’s not to say that this is some kind of ‘nostalgia fest’, their sound is certainly relevant now. In fact, on songs like “Villain” and “Sport Death” they deliver twists and turns in these songs than many alternative/indie bands can hope to show in their entire career. That’s the beauty of this release with songs like “Moving In” you get a song which swerves all over the place but then it’s followed by the deceptively sweet and straightforward sound of “You Hate The Title”.

There’s also plenty to love here for people who have come to the band from hearing Sad13. For example, “Lucky 88” displays a more electronica influence and together with “Alone With Girls” is an example of Sadie’s clear and smooth voice being used to spit out poignant lyrics. They’re songs that will appeal to fans of Jenny Lewis.

Speedy Ortiz are one of those bands that you can see easily becoming someone’s ‘favourite band ever’. As with previous releases, they have a knack of writing songs that are instantly appealing but also have a sense of depth that requires further investigation. So often Indie/alternative acts just seem to fall in to the trap of delivering run of the mill songs but that’s definitely not the case with this band. If you’re looking for a band to re spark your love for grungy, alternative rock then this is a fine place to start.