Workers Comp - S/T [Ever/Never Records]

Exploiting low wage workers is as American as apple pie, but the trio known as Workers Comp are doing their part to kick against the pricks. Collecting a trio of cassettes, a 45 and an unreleased track, this LP posits what the Dust Bowl migration would have been like if the migrants had access to righteously roughshod rock n’ roll. This is what Americana sounds like after hitchhiking through the Badlands, surrounded on all sides by the ineffectual managerial class, Workers Comp are highly-skilled journeymen—you may recognize drummer Ryan McKeever from his Staffers project, bassist Luke Reddick from art-punk dismantlers Divorce Horse, and singer/guitarist Joshua Gillis from the Detroit-based Deadbeat Beat. With Workers Comp, these three reach back to a time before indie rock became a playground for the idle rich. “High On The Job” sports the kind of weary defiance Johnny Cash made his name with, while “Pick And Choose” sounds like the Replacements got to happy hour before the bartender even started their shift. This self-titled comp contains a baker’s dozen worth of tracks, each one a hunk of soul-nourishing sustenance. Workers Comp might not be able to do anything about the weekly time-theft committed by your place of employment, but they’ll be waiting for you at the end of the day with a cold beer in a frosty mug and a fistful of tears in the form of a song.