Worn in Red – In The Offing

It would be easy to mistake Virginia’s Worn In Red as simple faceless hardcore.  But that would be missing some barely classifiable, vague but vital element.  Their latest album, In The Offing, may open with piercing cries bringing to mind those of vintage Alexisonfire, but a few moments later something much more like a fusion of Outbreak and My Heart To Joy takes hold.  Rather than maintaining a tone-deaf sense of aggression, vocalist Matt Neagle retreats into Joe Lusk’s melodic, guitar driven backdrop.  Think Castevet, but replace twinkly melodies with a conventional punk-rock structure, and worn vocals with borderline gut wrenching screams. 

But Neagle doesn’t work alone.  Guitarist Brendan Murphy also sings in tandem, his voice no less passionate.  But where Neagle sounds shrill, Murphy feels gruff.  He has a distinctively lower tone – closer to the worn delivery of New York City styled hardcore acts like Killing Time than his counterpart.  Working together, Neagle and Murphy trade off lines, words, and even phrases without much formula.  When needing something less forceful – like in “And You Knew” – Murphy even contributes some thoughtful near-singing.  Consequently, their alternating pitch and tone prevents any sense of droning or dragging often responsible for making aggressive hardcore feel dull.

Musically, Worn In Red, resembles post-hardcore acts like ­­­­­My Heart To Joy more than their breakdown, riff-heavy obsessed peers.  Ultimately they traverse the entire spectrum of hardcore and punk-rock, but never dwell on a fixed style for more than a chorus or verse at a time.  For example, “Piled Like Bricks” opens with the sudden starting and stopping of subsequent riffs, before quickly launching into a full-blown melodicore verse.  When the chorus picks up, the abruptness returns, eventually making the track’s frantic concluding moments all the more powerful.  Likewise, the quiet reflective moments, as per the opening and bridges making up “Resigned, Not Resigning” and “As Best We Can,” establish a keen sense of momentum within and between tracks.

Lyrically, the band matches their thoughtful musicianship with line after line of reflective offerings.  Throughout my listens the lyrics never became my focus, but a quick glimpse through the lyric booklet reveals some fairly heavy content about some pretty big themes.

Overall, In The Offing, has a great feeling to it.  As someone who needs that little something extra when entertaining really ragged hardcore, Worn In Red easily satisfied my rather finicky taste.  So if you fancy punk-rock, hardcore, post-punk, or anything in between, In The Offing deserves your time.