Speedy Ortiz sounds particularly exciting on 'Twerp Verse.'

Photo by Shervin Lainez

The new Speedy Ortiz LP is out today and it is something you should not sleep on. The band has tightened their sound and kicked up the melodies, and you can definitely feel the influence of singer and guitarist Sadie Dupuis' synth-heavy side project Sad13.

Don't worry, it's not like the band has gone all slick on you, but Twerp Verse is a big step forward for the band's sound. It could be because it's a completely different album than the one they had planned to release. Apparently after election day the group realized that the "strictly personal or lovey dovey" material they planned on recording was no longer all the relevant given the outcome of the Presidential race.

I'm sure I would have enjoyed that album, but it probably wouldn't have sounded as ambitious as the material they ended up writing afterward. Enjoy the album below and if you're in Chicago you can see them on May 12 at Subterranean.