When indie-rock bands began introducing polyrhythm into their template toward the end of the last decade, it seemed like a bit of a novelty, albeit a refreshing one. In the years since, though, its proven a versatile innovation, seasoning not only the African-influenced patter of Vampire Weekend and The Dodos or the worldbeat pastiche of Yeasayer, but also the unlikely noise rock of Ponytail or HEALTH.
Newly relocated from Fond du Lac and still in the early stages of introducing themselves to the local scene, the Milwaukee quartet Worrier is among the new breed of bands with a background in punk and noise exploring the possibilities of polyrhythm.
“We’re all into old post-punk, Les Savy Fav, Fugazi, all the classics like that,” says guitarist/singer Chris Bolertvky. “Our other guitarist, Scott, is a little bit more hip to the current trends than I am, and a little bit more pop influenced, where I like noisier rock, pretty much anything Dischord. But basically we were trying to come up with some new way to approach these sounds, some way to push them, and trying to combine more electronic elements and create something that would be exciting to us.”
With its plucky, staccato guitars, shifty rhythms and clap-along percussion, the danceable art-punk of Worrier’s debut album Source Errors Spells updates classic math-rock and post-punk sounds that had grown stale over the last decade. It’s a timely aesthetic that more bands are arriving at these daysthe British group Foals explores similar textures, the new Fang Island record shares the same rousing, anything-goes energy, and it seems inevitable the year will bring at least a few more, similarly polyrhythmic punk albums.
This Saturday Worrier will top a bill at Club Garibaldi with Invade Rome and Dear Astronaut. The band’s live show plays up the more danceable and cacophonous sides of the record, Bolertvky says.
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“The songs actually come across quite a bit heavier live than on the album,” he says. “The album is pretty clean. When we recorded it, we miked everything, and we pretty much had a clean line in for everything, so it turned out really crisp. Live, there’s definitely a much noisier element to it.”
