Brisbane’s Worse For Wear Leave A Lasting Impression with Debut Album (Track-By-Track)

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Tamara May

Brisbane alternative/pop punk outfit Worse For Wear are an upcoming pop punk three piece with enough punchiness and angst to get around the keenest of pop punk fans. With their single ‘Friends’ leaving quite the impact on us earlier this year, these fresh upstarts have way more potential up their sleeves and it’s all here on their debut full-length, Sure To Leave A Mark.

Produced by Nick Wilkinson (We Set Signals), the band have crafted songs around delicate matters like mental health (‘Don’t Look Down’) and personal self-reflections (‘Time’), while also keeping their spirits high in a style that’s mirrored by international acts State Champs and Real Friends. While Worse For Wear bring out their tastefully Aussie side here, listening to this album in full and in particular the style on ‘Don’t Look Down’ gave me a familiar feeling that I haven’t felt since hearing Skyway’s Finders Keepers for the first time back in 2011.

While it’s not hard to see the high calibre of talent in the Queensland music scene this year from all over, Worse For Wear join fellow pop punkers Waxflower in bringing us some thoughtful, catchy jams alongside the youthful spirit we enjoy about the genre. With this impressive debut out now, who knows what else these guys have up their sleeves?

Track-by-track:

‘Happy’:

The opener of our debut. It explores the endless pursuit of happiness and what we choose to personally define it by. We chose to set the scene with an upbeat thought-provoking jam.

‘Benched’:

This song continues exploring the themes brought up in Happy, this time we focus on contentment. Success can be subjective and no matter what we achieve in life, it’s how you choose to view it.

‘We Got This’:

An ode to keeping your promises and having your partners back through thick and thin. It’s a relatable love song that we hope gets everyone singing along.

‘Friends’:

Friends is a feel-good song, written to and for all our friends/family, past, present, and future. It’s good to reflect from time to time on everything we must be thankful for in our lives.

‘I Don’t Dance’:

This is the very first song ever written by Worse For Wear. It was written at our first ever jam. It’s an emo story about a young relationship.

‘Night Vision’:

This one, I’ve held onto a portion of these lyrics for a while. It’s about self-reflecting on who you are as a person and trying to improve as best you can. Also, to be your best self for the people closest to you. ‘Night Vision’ comes from the light that your loved ones can help guide you through tough times.

‘Home’:

This is a fun track about growing up. Acknowledging experiences through life, that help shape us. It’s these experiences and friendships that build what our metaphoric home.

‘Don’t Look Down’:

This is a reboot of one of our older songs. We wanted to re-energise it through this recording. It bounces between the perspective of a daughter losing her father to mental health and the struggles that the father faced. One day at work some tradies shared this story with us and we wound up writing it into this track as it really brought home how important mental health is to everyone.

‘Maria’:

In this song, I delve into my own pessimism and struggles with understanding the world we live in. Acknowledging that my natural negative way of thinking can be managed, focusing on reasons to see the positives in life even when things are bleak.

‘Time’:

The ‘unofficial’ title track and closer of the record. An overall reflection on the themes explored. It’s apologetic and a little self-loathing. In a way it is an open letter drawn from experiences we have seen unfold over the years. It acknowledges our imperfections and the pain this can ensue.

Words by Tamara May @citylightstam

Listen to Sure To Leave A Mark here