Weekend Nachos - Worthless (Cover Artwork)
Staff Pick

Weekend Nachos

Worthless (2011)

Relapse Records


I've heard Weekend Nachos get called lots of silly things things from powerviolence to grindcore, when mostly they were just a hardcore band, and I think Worthless serves as a testament to that. I slept on it for so long because I always found the Nachos a difficult band to listen to and write about. There is nothing bad about an album like Punish And Destroy, in fact I enjoy it quite a bit but even though the songs are short I never found enough variation between them to really sit through the entire thing. I found myself burnt out on the band. That's why Worthless is completely surprising; the album is fast and heavy but the musical ideas are precise and succinct in ways Nachos have never before approached.

If you enjoy loathing of any kind really: self, others, things that don't yet exist but someday might, Worthless is really the album for you. It is a loather's loather's album. There is something really cathartic about expressions of pure disgust on "Hometown Hero" which tells a familiar story about a self-important scene queen. With the thrashy guitar workout and the repeated phrase "Get fucked!" it channels all the rage you've felt for that mustache and chest tattoo but as a good Christan woman you've never been able to tell him to his face. It is kind of silly though when the lyrics call out "pussies" in "Black Earth" and then on "Dubvilence" the lyrics speak out against homophobia. Maybe I'm just getting my panties in a bunch over nothing but it seems strange to call out something that very much has it's roots in sexism and then use a term like "pussies." Maybe they were just so blinded with rage they couldn't think straight when the record was made. It feels like it.

I guess Weekend Nachos have always been pretty concerned with "scene politics" type of issues so it makes sense that they would address their detractors on record with "Jock Violence." I guess some people have felt their blending of powerviolence influences with other styles of Northeastern hardcore has been unpure. The very fact that the band doesn't stick to a subgenre and can make it all work so well together on Worthless is something that should be celebrated, not looked down upon. You get a heavily distorted version of an NYHC mosh anthem, a droning noise instrumental and vicious little shards of violence all brushing up against each other and it is all pretty damn enjoyable.

Maybe Worthless is just Weekend Nachos becoming more accessible but they certainly aren't any kinder or gentler. If you have written off the band before I highly recommend giving this album a chance; if you love the band but couldn't get into this release I suggest taking another listen to see how truly fucking marvelous it sounds.