The LA post-punks’ latest record “Witness Marks” arrives September 22nd via God? Records, Ty Segall’s Drag City imprint. If you’re a fan of the West Coast garage scene and you haven’t jumped into Flat Worms’ discography at any point over the past six years, you’ve still more than likely encountered at least one of the trio’s members: vocalist/guitarist Will Ivy played with Hunx and His Punx while bassist Tim Sullivan has recently put in time with the ever-evolving Oh Sees and drummer Justin Sullivan held down the kit with Kevin Morby and Cassie Ramone’s short-lived project The Babies. Yet as Flat Worms, the trio have explored everything from garage rock to dance punk, with their third and latest LP “Witness Marks” leaning heavily into post-punk conventions.
After unveiling plans for the new record (which arrives September 22nd via Ty Segall’s Drag City imprint God? Records) last month, the group are sharing the project’s second single “Suburban Swans,” which applies clanging guitar and tight percussion to a frustrated narrative of busting out of the constricting monotony of suburban life. “The last time we were in the UK, I learned that every mute swan in all of England legally belongs to the royal family,” Ivy shared regarding the song’s title in a press statement. “In the swan’s mind, it is free, living its life as a wild animal. It is totally unaware of the system in which it has been claimed as property by a human establishment.
Hitting flat and hard with their bass-drums-guitar and vocals alignment, Flat Worms use a buzzing combo of blunt force and surreal lyrics to hammer the absurdity of the status quo, as it deserves. Our social experiment continues to implode before our eyes; “Witness Marks” offers both critique and compassion, with songs that corkscrew through shades of exhilarating, dizzying and ambiguous spaces in between times of crisis and complacency.
releases September 22nd, 2023
The Fat Angel Sings 