Bay Area skramz act SUPERWORLD deliver a long-awaited debut that is damn solid.
Release date: February 13, 2026 | Lauren Records | Instagram | Bandcamp | YouTube
Sometimes an album takes years and years to materialize. SUPERWORLD technically formed in 2017, nearly a decade ago, boasting members from Spy, Leer, and Stickup Kid. While they released a debut EP Surefire in 2025, the semi-eponymous Super World is their first full-length work. The actual writing of the album took about eight years, done in bursts on-and-off through ‘a stretch of personal and creative shifts’ that perhaps signals some struggles on the back end.
The issue I see a lot with long-term writing and recording phases with bands is that audiences either move on, or the end product fails to live up to expectations. I’m pleased to say that SUPERWORLD avoid both of these less than ideal outcomes with their first LP, a love letter to the iconic hardcore music of the Bay Area.
“I Saw It Too”, the album’s opening track, is the puzzle piece I’ve come back to again and again during my time spent with Super World. While I like almost every single song, I think it’s both bold and effective for the record to begin with what 99% of other artists would use as a closer–melancholy, lower tempo, tense as it builds before ending in a grand explosion. Starting Super World with “I Saw It Too” actually intrigued me way, way more than had we began with something a bit more in line with the rest of the album, like the higher-energy “Dark Upper”. I think SUPERWORLD‘s gambit paid off here and I give them major props for going for it in the first place.
“Payback” is a great follow-up to “I Saw It Too”, bringing in a fairly classic tapped Midwest emo riff and some spoken vocals for maximum angst. This is another savvy move on SUPERWORLD‘s part–“Payback” still feels in line with the opener in terms of the sonic palette, but the breakneck pace (only 1:41 long) and intricate guitar playing retain the listener’s interest in an increasingly difficult environment to do so. Attention economy or whatever. You know what I’m trying to say.
There’s a lot of Title Fight in this album. I have no problem with that, considering they remain one of the most respected hardcore acts of all time. I particularly heard the influence on “Stag Hunt”, which wound up as one of my favorites. But I do think that Super World could have used a touch more variation in terms of the tracklist. There’s a few songs in the middle that blend together a tiny bit too much. On the bright side, though, the moments of unpredictable instrumentation, like the piano in “The Dream” or the almost beachy tone of “Surefire”, pop even more in comparison. I consider maybe two average tracks a pretty minor gripe in the context of a damn good collection of songs.
Super World is full of some of the best lyrics I’ve heard this year and extremely solid performances from each member. Singer and former Leer frontman Brandon Holder brings a very pained but wrathful energy to the writing that caught my attention immediately. “The Dream” is a great example:
‘Dancing in your parents’ room
To the man in the mirror
Put on your mother’s dress
Threads fill voids unrest
Moving in an empty hall
Scared of the future
Close your eyes and sing’
I like that a lot. Straightforward, but instantly creates distinct, evocative imagery that pairs well with the emotional undercurrent of identity formation and the anxiety that comes along with that.
And, of course, because I touched so heavily on the opening track, I should spend some time on the closer “The Process”, which is a nice mirror both lyrically and musically. The longing and melancholy is cranked up to eleven here as SUPERWORLD devolves into loosely-played chaos, creating a nice dichotomy.
‘I am waiting
Always fading
Sun-bleached and stained from the inside and out
This isn’t flying
This is falling
It’s time to go you know’
This, to me, shows that SUPERWORLD, despite being green releases-wise, possesses a depth of understanding of their own approach to music that some bands don’t stumble across for a long time. Their history and shared culture clearly have played a part in getting this work out into the world. I look forward to getting kind of sad and kind of keyed up with them again in future.
Photo by Angela Ngo.
