There’s something very personal about the songs on Wormy’s Shark River as it moves between indie rock, folk, and alt-country. Noah Rauchwerk has a conversational way of singing that makes these songs feel like stories being told rather than performances being put on.
I hear touches of John Prine, Bright Eyes, and even Wilco in different corners of the album, but there’s a personality here that belongs entirely to Rauchwerk. The songs can be funny, self-deprecating, tender, and deeply sad.
“Big Loser” sets the tone with a mix of alt-country and indie pop. There’s a romantic quality to the way it captures how ordinary, imperfect days spent with someone can become precious once they’re gone. The song strikes a nice balance between its catchy melody and its lingering sadness.
“I Hate You” keeps some of that country-pop feel, adding fuzzy guitars and a terrific keyboard passage before building into a blast of power pop. There’s a funny, almost playful quality to the song, with a strange mix of being happy for someone else while also feeling resentful.
After the brief “Richard and Maureen” interlude, “27 Days” shifts into something more earnest. The laid-back acoustic guitar and distinctive drum pattern give the song a relaxed feel, while there’s a sense of yearning for a connection that may be fleeting but could still leave a lasting impression. The instrumental passage has a wonderfully unexpected, almost pinball-like quality, and the elastic-sounding bass solo is one of the album’s highlights.
“Cocaine Bear” brings a little more energy, with a Bright Eyes-like vocal delivery and fuzzy, synth-heavy arrangement. The song explores distraction, depression, and the realization that even the best days are temporary. There’s a terrific melody here, and the chorus is one of the album’s strongest hooks.
The pedal steel gives “I Am Here” a beautiful country yearning, with fuzz and other textures filling out the arrangement. The song isn’t necessarily mourning a relationship that has ended so much as longing for someone who hasn’t arrived yet. That feeling of searching for a connection gives the song a real tenderness.
“Give Up” approaches those same feelings from a much darker direction. Where “I Am Here” is still looking for someone to share life with, this one sounds exhausted by the effort. There’s a wonderful build to the song, with multiple voices joining together on the chorus, giving it an almost communal feel. The guitars get fuzzier as it moves along, adding a little power-pop punch to a song that’s wrestling with some pretty heavy emotions.
On “Breakfast Again,” the acoustic guitar and conversational delivery bring to mind the storytelling side of 70s singer-songwriters. There’s a line that really stuck with me: “The hardest things that you ever try / make you wanna try again.” It captures that feeling of wanting something that’s been frustratingly elusive.
“Old Dog” is one of the album’s more upbeat moments, with a relaxed, almost beachy groove and a terrific drum part. There’s a fullness to the arrangement that gives the song some real momentum, even as the vocal remains cool and unhurried. Lyrically, it gets into the uncertainty of a relationship where two people seem to keep missing each other, questioning whether they’re really getting what they need from one another.
The album closes with “Flooded,” a slower folk song with a lovely woodwind arrangement. Rauchwerk makes what feels very personal become immediately recognizable. The song feels like a conversation between two people who haven’t really separated from each other’s lives, which complicates their ability to move on. There’s a sadness in the question of what they’re doing and why they can’t turn what they are now into something more lasting.
Shark River is an emotionally effective album. It brings big feelings into the middle of ordinary life. These aren’t songs that seem designed to make you feel sad. They’re songs about people going to the store, watching a movie, traveling, drinking, seeing friends, and trying to get through another day. And somewhere in the middle of all that, they’re dealing with loneliness, regret, jealousy, affection, and the confusion of relationships. The big emotions are happening alongside all the little details of everyday life, making the songwriting feel incredibly authentic. These songs sound like a real person trying to make sense of things that are happening to them.
The music and performances reinforce that feeling. Rauchwerk’s conversational vocals, with phrasing that makes you feel like you’re hearing someone work through a thought in real time, never feel overly polished or put upon. The drumming is excellent throughout, the layered guitars give the arrangements plenty of texture, and the doubled and multiple vocals add warmth and depth.
There’s a lot of tenderness here, particularly in the way the album deals with feelings that aren’t always easy to understand. You recognize these emotions because you’ve experienced them yourself, or because you’ve watched people you care about go through them.
Shark River is a really good record, and one whose honesty makes it easy to connect with.
Verdict: Great
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