Bleached, “Welcome the Worms”
Sisters Jennifer and Jesse Clavin were going through rough patches when they started working on , a record with a title taken from a religious pamphlet about embracing the dark side of life rather than ignoring it. Jesse had been evicted and Jennifer, Bleached s frontwoman, was a self-described loose cannon after she ended a toxic relationship.
But rather than record something dark and bitter, made an album that shows them stronger and wiser for the turmoil. The opener s title and refrain — keep on keepin on sets the stage for the trio to power through. Come on boy, dry your eyes / It s good to feel just a little alive, she sings to a poppy melody alongside ghoulish howls on , imparting some of her newfound wisdom through the album s best song.
Culled from a batch 30 demos, these songs have more fire and muscle than anything on the band s debut LP, Ride Your Heart. The sisters — now with the songwriting help of bassist Micayla Grace — tightened loose screws while exploring new avenues. Desolate Town makes dissonant and crunchy gestures at grunge, while Wasted On You sounds like an early Wavves song. The guitar that rings high over Hollywood, We Did It All Wrong put a ballad-like touch on what would otherwise be a straightforward pop-rock song, complete with handclaps and tambourine. No matter what they toy with, they sound certain of it.
They mostly shook of the surf rock haze, but Welcome the Worms still sounds akin to Wavves, Best Coast and Weezer. That s a complimentary way of saying it sounds familiar, but Bleached is as much worth your time as any of those bands, and they know it.
