Worn Thin
Encyclopedia
Worn Thin is the debut album by the New York City
rock
band Weep
, released July 13, 2010 through Projekt Records
. It includes a remix
of the song "Ever Shy" from the band's 2008 debut EP Never Ever
, as well as cover version
s of Jesus Jones
' "Right Here, Right Now
" and Rihanna
's "Shut Up and Drive
".
, previously of the gothic rock
bands Requiem in White and Mors Syphilitica
, together with keyboard player Alex Dziena, bass guitarist Fred Macaraeg, and drummer Bill Kovalcik. The band released their debut EP
, Never Ever
that year through Hammer's Astro-Base Go company, and distributed it through his former label Projekt Records
.
For Worn Thin the band strove for a high production value to the tracks, an approach Hammer described as "almost like a reactionary antidote to what we're sick of in music. That dry, low-tech production of the past ten years is tiring. It's in its footy pajamas, and it needs to take a nap. We wanted something lush and dramatic for the songs on Worn Thin. They usually relegate that kinda over-the-top production to Lady Gaga
. But believe me, it works really well with a messy little band like Weep." To this end the band incorporated additional elements into the songs, including multi-part vocal harmonies and string and horn sections:
, New Wave
, gothic rock
, shoegazing
, and indie rock
acts including Echo & the Bunnymen
, Kitchens of Distinction
, Interpol
, and Siouxie and the Banshees, calling it "one of those efforts that draws on bands more adopted by [gothic rock] fans rather than necessarily being that way in the first place." He remarked that Hammer's "dry, demi-robot-like vocals ease the kick of the songs, a calm passion that suggests changing moods without acting them out to the full." He criticized a "relative sameness" of the songs that caused them to blend together, but complemented the band's cover version
of "Shut Up and Drive
" as "a revelation, turning the machine pop of one style into another with ease." Micheal Toland of The Big Takeover
detected influences of The Psychedelic Furs, New Order
, The Cure
, The Comsat Angels, and Cocteau Twins
in the album, saying that "it sounds like Hammer created this record under the influence of several hours of 120 Minutes
, circa the mid-'80s." He noted, however, that "this is no nostalgia trip. Ringing guitars, lush synth beds and soaring melodies evoke a certain era, but Hammer's husky croon – barely above a mutter – subdues any note of melodrama."
Less Lee Moore of Popshifter complemented the instrumentation on Worn Thin, particularly the synthesizer melodies which he found very effective in evoking subtle emotions. He also praised Hammer's singing, saying that "One might think that in the midst of all this lush, exquisite beauty, Doc Hammer's gravelly, robotic voice might seem anachronistic, but the contrapuntal effect is actually quite perfect. His singing is higher in the mix than it was on Never Ever and the songs are better for it." He summarized the album as "compelling proof that Weep is not some group of hipster New Wave wannabes, but a band that deserves your attention." Greg Heaney of the online magazine
Revolt gave Worn Thin four stars out of five, remarking that "The songs have a lushness to them that makes the album deceptively easy to get lost in", and calling it "an incredibly rich and warm listening experience". Noting Hammer's roots in Dark Wave music, he commented that "With layered, wistful vocals and spacey synthesizers, Weep pays tribute to the bands that have helped to shape the genre while delivering an experience that is uniquely theirs." Chris Dahlberg of Cosmos Gaming identified elements of Dark Wave music in Worn Thin and remarked that the interplay of keyboard and guitar melodies added texture to the album. He described Hammer's singing voice as "smooth and relaxing [...] a perfect fit for Weep's dreamy instrumental arrangements. While he doesn’t vary his pitch as much as he does in his voice acting, the style that he does use is very strong".
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Weep
Weep (band)
Weep is an American rock band from New York City whose music combines elements of Ethereal Wave, gothic rock, shoegazing, post-punk, and synthpop...
, released July 13, 2010 through Projekt Records
Projekt Records
This is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...
. It includes a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of the song "Ever Shy" from the band's 2008 debut EP Never Ever
Never Ever (EP)
Never Ever is the debut EP by the New York City rock band Weep, released in 2008 through Astro-Base Go Recordings and distributed by Projekt Records.- Background :...
, as well as cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones are a British rock band. The Wiltshire-based group, formed in late 1988, recorded and performed in the late 1980s, throughout the 1990s, and into the 2000s. They are best remembered for their track, "Right Here, Right Now", an international hit and subsequently globally appropriated for...
' "Right Here, Right Now
Right Here, Right Now (Jesus Jones song)
"Right Here, Right Now" is a song written by Mike Edwards and recorded by the British band Jesus Jones from the album, Doubt. A single was released in September 1990, peaking at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart...
" and Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
's "Shut Up and Drive
Shut Up and Drive (Rihanna song)
"Shut Up and Drive" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad . Released as album's second single, the song was solicited to the US radios on June 12, 2007 and was physically released on August 27, 2007 in the United Kingdom...
".
Background
Weep was formed in 2008 by multi-disciplinary artist Eric "Doc" HammerDoc Hammer
Eric A. "Doc" Hammer is an American musician, actor, film and television writer, voice actor, and painter. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer...
, previously of the gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
bands Requiem in White and Mors Syphilitica
Mors Syphilitica
Mors Syphilitica is a Gothic rock/Ethereal band formed in 1995 in New York City by Lisa Hammer and Eric Hammer after the breakup of Requiem in White. Their music combines often-surreal lyrics with unusual instruments such as the mandolin and banjo, as well more conventional instruments such as the...
, together with keyboard player Alex Dziena, bass guitarist Fred Macaraeg, and drummer Bill Kovalcik. The band released their debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Never Ever
Never Ever (EP)
Never Ever is the debut EP by the New York City rock band Weep, released in 2008 through Astro-Base Go Recordings and distributed by Projekt Records.- Background :...
that year through Hammer's Astro-Base Go company, and distributed it through his former label Projekt Records
Projekt Records
This is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...
.
For Worn Thin the band strove for a high production value to the tracks, an approach Hammer described as "almost like a reactionary antidote to what we're sick of in music. That dry, low-tech production of the past ten years is tiring. It's in its footy pajamas, and it needs to take a nap. We wanted something lush and dramatic for the songs on Worn Thin. They usually relegate that kinda over-the-top production to Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
. But believe me, it works really well with a messy little band like Weep." To this end the band incorporated additional elements into the songs, including multi-part vocal harmonies and string and horn sections:
It was fun pushing these songs to a place that most bands would feel goofy pushing them to. The vocals have three- and even four-part harmonies, which for a guy with my brass pipes, is no small feat. And we have string and horn sections that push the material right over the cliff. But at the same time, when we approached the guitar-heavy songs, we backed off all the bells and cranked up the amps. I guess we just took each song on its own and did everything in our power to present it the way we heard it in our heads.
Critical reception
Critical reaction to Worn Thin was generally positive. Ned Raggett of Allmusic drew comparisons to post-punkPost-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
, and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
acts including Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, Kitchens of Distinction
Kitchens of Distinction
Kitchens of Distinction were a three-person alternative rock/dream pop band formed in Tooting, South London, England in 1986...
, Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
, and Siouxie and the Banshees, calling it "one of those efforts that draws on bands more adopted by [gothic rock] fans rather than necessarily being that way in the first place." He remarked that Hammer's "dry, demi-robot-like vocals ease the kick of the songs, a calm passion that suggests changing moods without acting them out to the full." He criticized a "relative sameness" of the songs that caused them to blend together, but complemented the band's cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Shut Up and Drive
Shut Up and Drive (Rihanna song)
"Shut Up and Drive" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad . Released as album's second single, the song was solicited to the US radios on June 12, 2007 and was physically released on August 27, 2007 in the United Kingdom...
" as "a revelation, turning the machine pop of one style into another with ease." Micheal Toland of The Big Takeover
The Big Takeover
The Big Takeover is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since 1980 by critic Jack Rabid.-Overview:The Big T usually appears in June and December, with most recent issues coming in around 200 pages. The review section, featuring Jack’s Top 40 for the issue, is regularly 60-80...
detected influences of The Psychedelic Furs, New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, The Comsat Angels, and Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
in the album, saying that "it sounds like Hammer created this record under the influence of several hours of 120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
, circa the mid-'80s." He noted, however, that "this is no nostalgia trip. Ringing guitars, lush synth beds and soaring melodies evoke a certain era, but Hammer's husky croon – barely above a mutter – subdues any note of melodrama."
Less Lee Moore of Popshifter complemented the instrumentation on Worn Thin, particularly the synthesizer melodies which he found very effective in evoking subtle emotions. He also praised Hammer's singing, saying that "One might think that in the midst of all this lush, exquisite beauty, Doc Hammer's gravelly, robotic voice might seem anachronistic, but the contrapuntal effect is actually quite perfect. His singing is higher in the mix than it was on Never Ever and the songs are better for it." He summarized the album as "compelling proof that Weep is not some group of hipster New Wave wannabes, but a band that deserves your attention." Greg Heaney of the online magazine
Online magazine
An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...
Revolt gave Worn Thin four stars out of five, remarking that "The songs have a lushness to them that makes the album deceptively easy to get lost in", and calling it "an incredibly rich and warm listening experience". Noting Hammer's roots in Dark Wave music, he commented that "With layered, wistful vocals and spacey synthesizers, Weep pays tribute to the bands that have helped to shape the genre while delivering an experience that is uniquely theirs." Chris Dahlberg of Cosmos Gaming identified elements of Dark Wave music in Worn Thin and remarked that the interplay of keyboard and guitar melodies added texture to the album. He described Hammer's singing voice as "smooth and relaxing [...] a perfect fit for Weep's dreamy instrumental arrangements. While he doesn’t vary his pitch as much as he does in his voice acting, the style that he does use is very strong".
Track listing
Personnel
- Doc HammerDoc HammerEric A. "Doc" Hammer is an American musician, actor, film and television writer, voice actor, and painter. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, recording engineer, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
, artwork - Fred Macaraeg – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Alex Dziena – keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s - Bill Kovalcik – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
External links
- Worn Thin at Projekt RecordsProjekt RecordsThis is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...