by Kris Handel (@khandel84)
Curse Word are a three piece from the Boston area comprising of some familiar names from the past few years of the regional music scene, with members from bands like Grass is Green and Speedy Ortiz amongst others. Your Name is their debut record that is full of slightly angular and aggressive guitar work and a rhythm section that bobs and weaves around each other with aplomb. There are moments of bright pop that appear intermittently, but also a tension that ebbs and flows and keeps itself lurking no matter where the melodies go. Curse Word shift around as to what they want to accomplish on each track and utilize tempo and pace changes that create a bit of a jig-saw puzzle that offers so much to the audience.
Your Name hits its peaks of emotional intensity on the tracks that mellow the volume a little bit without compromising the tension and searching that is crucial for the compelling musical canvas they work on. Songs like “HMU,” “Over You,” and “Seconds” hit upon topics like working through failed relationships or over-access to information and the burnout created by it while the band swerve and dip behind Matt Powell’s varying vocal approaches that convey each message. “HMU” starts off with slight guitar work from Daniel Ferm and adroit drumming before shifting into a blast of coiled and aggressive noise driven by Ferm’s wailing guitar and Powell’s aching howls. “Seconds” is a high point on the album as Powell’s vocals slightly soar with emotional weight while delivering a message of boredom and disconnection with lines like “I’ve got everybody in my pocket/No need to go outside/In my hand I’ve got it all/keeping me updated” as the band provide a chiming and stuttering foundation.
“Pivot” and “Stress Vomit” open and close the album respectively with a bit of a more urgent presence while providing moments of anxiety and the release of tension that lays at the heart of the record. The former track starts off jauntily enough with Ferm’s brittle guitar making itself known while Powell’s bass swerves and interlocks with Jake Waldman’s prodding drums which propels the melody. Powell’s vocals provide a bit of jitteriness here that heightens the uncertainty highlighted in the lyrics and contain enough certainty that doesn’t get overwhelmed by the more powerful moments in the song. The closing track provides a bit of a power-pop indebted moment yet with a bit more muscle with Waldman’s forceful crunching drums and Ferm’s stinging guitar interjections.
This record hearkens back to early-mid 90’s DC post-punk, mixed with a bit of midwestern churning and emotional resonance that mingle oh so well with each other. Everything falls into place on this record that builds and releases its anxiety and malaise, be it with an eye that looks inward most of the time. Through all the twists and turns Curse Word execute, there is never a lack of connection with each other or the listener, and that allows for the record to flow in a manner that doesn’t fail to excite. Your Name is a record that lives in an aural world that seems vaguely familiar, yet it’s liveliness and willingness to never stay put makes for a riveting listen.