Existential lyrics, loud-quiet-loud dynamics and emotive guitars might have some confusing Deserve to Die for another entry in the current emo revival. Don’t get it twisted, however — Woolworm are a hardcore band who have decided to play pop music.

Birthed from Vancouver’s hardcore scene, the band have perfected peppy pop songs that simultaneously bear the crushing weight of being alive. On the surface, the music falls somewhere between vintage indie-pop like the Chameleons and fuzzed-out stadium alt-rock like the Smashing Pumpkins, but every once in a while they drop nods to aggressive influences like Integrity and Cold World.