Nick Nottebaum aka Superhaunted is super haunted by personal demons that come to life in “warrior/worrier”.  I never really paid attention to how close the words “warrior” and “worrier” sound but I don’t think you can have one without the other. “Warrior/worrier” is a super sad pop punk journal that chronicles one man’s struggle to overcome his worries and move on with this life.

Track one, “Both Worlds” is loaded with anxiety about making the right choices and ultimately just waiting it off. “I guess I’ll just wing it I guess I’ll just wait and fall asleep”. When stuck between two difficult choices always go with option three and write a song about it!

Sonically Nick often reminds me of JD of Oso Oso notably in Track 2 “Henry Rollins Motivational Speaker”. I might have drawn this comparison from Nicks email where he said W/W is FFO Northstar, Oso Oso, BoysNightOut, The Front Bottoms. I’m a huge Oso Oso fan so I’m actively going to look for these comparisons. I love this track because it delves deeper into personal anxiety and working really hard to just not be sad anymore.

Track 3 “Couch” might be my favorite track just because it’s so comically short. Along with the title of the previous track “Henry Rollins Motivational Speaker”. Superhaunted demonstrates you can still have a sense of humor about your problems. It’s reminiscent of bands such as Spraynard and Blink 182. Although, W/W is every heavy and emo I still see it as a very pop punk record. I hope no one is offended by me saying that.

I have a personal bias toward track 4, “Nightmare” as my good friend Chris Palowitch of the band Just Friends plays trombone on this track. I’m a sucker for horns on an emo track.

Overall, W/W showcases great song writing and pays homage to a plethora of influences that paved the way to this brand of emo pop punk.  The lyrics can get really sad at times but the EP carries a strange sense of optimism and I believe that’s where the worrier becomes a warrior.

Listen to the EP below

7/10

-Dan R.