Album Review: Don't Worry - Remorseless Swing
Essex-based emo-adjacent indie rockers Don’t Worry return with their second longplayer, 12 tracks of emotionally charged indie pop that isn’t a departure from their debut, but it is an evolution.
Essex Don't Worry made a name for themselves during the emo revival movement of the mid '10s. It was a scene that suited the band. Their debut album was 11 tracks of emotionally charged, jangly indie pop, falling somewhere in between bands like The Front Bottoms and The Smith Street Band whilst harbouring a distinctly British take on the sound.
It's been four years since the band released their debut. And they've grown up somewhat in that time. Not least sonically. Their second LP, Remorseless Swing, isn't so much a departure from the angst riddled emo-pop of its predecessor, but it is an evolution, the scrappy twenty-something worries replaced with polished thirty-something anxieties in a way that's both welcoming and reassuring to listeners who have aged alongside the band.
Indeed, tracks such as 'Got, Need' or 'Progress With Denise' are far more lush and expansive than anything the band have released previously, leaning far more into the indie side of things than ever before. Of course, that doesn't mean the band have left behind their emo roots entirely.
There's still equal echoes of bands such as The Promise Ring as much as there is Pavement or Built to Spill. And while that might provide the record with something of a transatlantic feel, the vocal delivery, as well as references to football badge profile pictures and baked beans, amongst various others, are quintessentially British.
Of course, the ideas that Remorseless Swing mainly explores are much more universal. Long-distance relationships, poor mental health and the struggle to maintain friendships into adulthood. While this all might feel like familiar territory, if not for the band then for the genre certainly, that's because it is, but that doesn't mean the narratives are any less salient, especially to those of us trying to navigate our thirties armed with little more than a smartphone and anxiety.
Stand out moments come in the form of the short but effortlessly sweet 'Every Corner', the even shorter clattering chaos of the eponymous 'The Scythes Remorseless Swing'. However, things get a little more interesting with the wonky Blur-esque 'Beans' and further still with the lilting 'DST' featuring Soot Sprite.
While there's still plenty to love for those who have been following Don't Worry since their inception, the evolution between records will certainly open the band up to a wider audience, and anyone whose got even a passing interest in bands like The Cribs, Los Campesinos!, Sebadoh or the aforementioned Pavement, would find a fair amount to enjoy here.
Words by Dave Beech
