Change from a band is something that is not always welcomed by fans. Fans will almost always say that a band’s “first album” is their best (such hipsters). But in the case of Walnut Creek hardcore band Worthwhile, change should be welcomed.
On March 19, Worthwhile released a brand new song titled, “Melody, Save Me” via YouTube. The song is the first single off the band’s new album, “Carry on Kid,” which comes out April 4.
Worthwhile has gone through a little change in sound from their previous EP “Not Fixed, but Found.” The band has left their pop-punk roots behind and gone to a more melodic-hardcore style of music, a change that they pulled off incredibly well.
“Melody, Save Me” starts out as though it were a normal Worthwhile song, a guitar strumming a chord with some cymbals behind it. As the drums build, there’s something different about this song and it’s immediately heard as soon as the vocals come in. Vocalist James Teyler has completely cut-out the clean vocals that fans are used to for some hardcore-style screams and yells.
Structurally, the song somewhat follows the verse-chorus structure, but Worthwhile does it a little differently. The band decided to cut the hooks and write the lyrics as one long verse. After going through their versions of verses and choruses, the song drops down for a little guitar break before it builds back-up into a breakdown that ends the song.
Overall, this song is very impressive. Teyler’s vocals and lyrics are amazingly passionate. Guitarists Tre Shortland and Daniel Gilmore keep the listener turning back to catch new riffs that they did not hear the first time. Drummer Luke Teyler is constantly switching up beats to keep things interesting.
If the rest of the album follows suit of “Melody, Save Me,” then this might be the best local release this year. This song is worth checking out for any fans of the pop-punk/hardcore genre.