In a condensed market, it has become almost an inevitability for artists to delve into new, sometimes alien, sounds to evolve and maintain a sense of separation from their contemporaries. However, in only five tracks, The Worst Guys’ debut EP Not So Bad displays a versatility and maturity that is usually observable over years of artistic development, let alone a single release.
This adaptability comes from the production of Joe Marsh. Within Not So Bad lies a score of styles that owes to the character of the EP, the most daring of these being the closing track ‘Never Back Down (N.B.D.)’ which expertly recalls the sounds of 90s trance and the psychedelia of Tame Impala in a song of grooving resilience.
Yet, the EP’s best moments come in the collisions of Marsh’s darker, more creeping rhythms with the authoritative words of vocalist Louis Prince, a formula rightly followed for the majority of Not So Bad. Primed with an oppressively grabbing bassline, ‘Isolation On The Menu’ details the introversion and frustrations of life under lockdown, while ‘WHY U MAD‘ experiments with tones of vacant sparsity that allow Prince to take compelling command of the track.
Without context you would be under the impression that this was an EP of seasoned professionals. Given this, it comes as an even greater surprise that The Worst Guys are yet to even perform these tracks live. Not So Bad is, therefore, conclusive evidence of musicians with a clear vision for their future come the time isolation is finally taken off the menu, and, with an assortment of genres to be found in the EP, it’s obvious that they are no where near a shortage of ideas.
Track Listing:
- Isolation On The Menu
- Bittersweet
- WHY U MAD
- More Than Meets The Eye
- Never Back Down (N.B.D.)
The Colour of Spring 