The Writhers Make a Delicious Little Mess on BUG STUFF

Four songs, and zero interest in subtlety. The San Diego band folds horror-punk, surf-skewed swagger, and old-school punk bite into a lean EP that feels tighter than their undead shtick suggests

BUG STUFF is exactly the kind of compact jolt I like from a band with a strong identity! Four songs, 4:28, and a grin that never quite hides the grime. The Writhers are from San Diego and their work traces back to acts like the Cramps, Misfits, Dead Kennedys, early TSOL, Oingo Boingo, the Birthday Party, surf, and post-hardcore. For me, that lineage comes through as momentum.

I hear a band that knows how to keep riffs wiry, rhythms prowling, and nasty hooks that stick after the record stops. The song titles alone, “Roach Boy,” “Snug As a Bug,” “VVorm,” and “Fly Paper” tell me the joke is half the pleasure, but the real draw is how confidently The Writhers turn that joke into propulsion! More snap, and a sharper sense of sequencing that makes the EP feel like a single burst of controlled infection. By the end, I’m left wanting another track.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out The Writhers on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist