Wormbelly
The Guf
self-released
It seems to me that the members of Wormbelly must have slipped into a coma in 1993, only to awake just prior to recording The Guf. I can’t believe how incredibly early-‘90s “Alternative” this is! Before I continue, I need to slip on my Doc Martens, my Pearl Jam t-shirt and grow a small goatee.
But seriously, this album can be summed up in three words: Stone Temple Pilots (circa Core). The guitars are super loud and whiney, and the drums are high in the mix. Most songs are played in mid-tempo, and pound like a jackhammer. The lead singer for Wormbelly doesn’t appear to actually think he’s Scott Weiland, but it does seem that he referred to Weiland for some tips on vocal delivery.
“There or Thereabouts” could be a long forgotten STP b-side; it’s absolutely hilarious how much Wormbelly borrows from STP, especially on this song. You have to hear it to believe it. “Why I Am” seems to borrow not so much from STP, but more so from Freakshow-era Silverchair. “Tell Me Nothing” is 100% Neon Ballroom-style Silverchair, complete with Daniel Johns’s syllable over-enunciation.
I guess all I can really say about The Guf is that I enjoyed it once, but it’s not something I’ll ever listen to again. If I want to hear Silverchair or Stone Temple Pilots, I’ll listen to those bands. Pretty much anyone who was a teenager in the early 1990s will have a kinship with this record; teenagers now will shrug this off without a second thought.
Wormbelly: http://www.wormbelly.com/
