Street Worms, Brianna

I told Puke on Your Birthday when I picked this album that it was totally out of my musical comfort zone; somehow, by the end of my fifth listen through, I feel right at home. Okay, not completely, there's some weird shit on this thing. Conversely, there are some serious highs. Man, don't you just love an album with contrast?

Anyways, let's dive in.

Things I loved: 

The energy. I knew little about Viagra Boys going into this thing outside the songs my friends had played for me. What I understood by the end is that these guys rarely stop. Through the 36 minutes of Street Worms, we are driven forward by intense bass lines and percussion, stopping only to visit the Agricultural District dog show and to feed the worms. Among my favorite moments were "Shrimp Shack" and "Frogstrap"; my only gripe is that the former did sound a lot like one of the few other VB songs I was familiar with—"Troglodyte" off of 2022's Cave World. Easily forgiven when the Boys saved the best for last. Nuclear energy in musical form, final track "Amphetanarchy" is by far the highlight of the entire album. My man was KILLING it on that sax!!! Made me want to run through a wall in the best way.

Things that weren't for me:

Formerly mentioned dog show interlude and worm dinner. Maybe I'm missing something, but Street Worms wasn't really giving "concept album," so the point of this way-too-long voiceover was lost on me. It also totally took the wind out of my sails mid-commute just when I needed that kick the most. I didn't quite enjoy the thought of getting eaten or slithered on by our earthly funeral directors either. Intensity is all well and good, but let's keep the imagery of human decomposition out of it. 

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Ultimately, this album was a good time. A little repetitive in style for my taste, and at times a little strange in content, but it certainly got me amped up. I think we can call it another successful journey out of the familiar.