Over the last decade or so, LA-based outfit Worriers has served as a vehicle of catharsis. Lead Lauren Denitzio uses the project to negotiate the tangled cruelties of contemporary society, attempts to transform despair into defiance. The style culminated with Warm Blanket, a home recorded album released this past April which represented in something of a sea change. Because after years of trying to make the band work, Denitzio embraced the notion that Worriers was in fact a solo project. Suddenly the expectations and preconceptions folded into being a band member were evaporated. As they describe it: “I realized I could write whatever I wanted.”
Only the record was evidently not the culmination of the project, for some short months later Denitzio is back with Trust Your Gut, a brand new full-length on Ernest Jenning Record Co. which rides the wave of this newfound freedom to further the Worriers style. Not that the record is entirely solo, with a studio band featuring Atom Willard (Against Me!, Social Distortion), Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady), Frank Piegaro and Allegra Anka (Cayetana) bringing to life a triumphant sound typified by the title track and lead single. A song which leans headlong into the spirit of freedom and self-discovery, shaking off the nagging doubts and second guesses with its building momentum.
Think what I see in the mirror
isn’t what you’re seein’ at all.
If the feeling’s just in my head
cause I’m spinning, too.
This can’t be worth it.
I’m at my best without you
The song comes complete with a video directed by Chelsea Christer which taps into the tracks sense of joy. “This is some of the most fun I’ve ever had writing and recording a song, so I wanted the video to come from an equally fun and joyous place,” Denitzio explains. “The song is meant to celebrate learning to trust your intuition and advocate for yourself and your own time, even in the face of being told that everything is fine.” As they continue:
I thought it would be a good match for the video to be an interpretation of Empire Records where we’re saving a queer bar instead of a record store – just a fun way to claim space and community and see yourself in something when outside forces are working against you. Queer interpretations are some of my favorite things to talk about, and I’ll never turn down a chance to incorporate queer joy into our work!
Trust Your Gut will be released on the 23rd September via Ernest Jenning Record Co. and you can pre-order it from the Worriers Bandcamp page.
