Review: Wimps’ ‘Suitcase’: Generation-Defining Slacker Punk

There’s a consistency of delivery in the droning Seattle punk of Wimps’ 2015 sophomore full-length Suitcase that shows them steadfastly sticking to their routine. Their debut 2013 release Repeat took on the frustrations and depressions of everyday life, and the new record doesn’t stray far from the course. Short and sweet opening track “Vampire” rushes through on the basis of little more than the line “I’m a vampire,” while on “Dump,” vocalist/guitarist Rachel Ratner starts off with “I haven’t cleaned my room for weeks/pizza crumbs are in the sheets,” displaying the perfectly nonchalant attitude of a generation.

But this generation is growing up and so are Wimps. “Middle Ages” contemplates the real world of adulting, hitting numerical milestones that just make you want to lie down, “Old Guy” offers a beautiful bass line from Matt Nyce while observing what it’s like to be that guy at any party, with a lifetime of experiences that everyone around you is seeing for the first time. This is punk rock for the Seattle rain, for the slackers and tokers who’ve grown up without changing.

On “Capitol Hill,” we see Wimps taking a lazy stab at the stunted drug availability of a gentrifying locale, set to a dead-spin guitar. Wimps’ brand of frustrated lyrical gems delivered in deadpan style and set to west-coast lo-fi guitars and Dave Ramm’s incessant drum beats hits a perfectly listenable note. Suitcase is almost annoyingly relatable, kind of funny – in a depressingly honest way – and though the entire album comes in under 30 minutes, it’s hard not to leave it on repeat while you get lost in their jaded world.

(Suitcase is available for purchase on Wimps’ Bandcamp via Kill Rock Stars. You can stream the track “Dump” below.)