‘16’ arrives with the kind of confidence that makes its contradictions feel effortless. Wormogenic takes the uncertainty of adolescence and pushes it through a kaleidoscope of shimmering synths, gritty electronics and driving bass, creating something that feels both euphoric and unsettled, and we are happy to be premiering it here at LOCK.
There’s a restless energy running beneath its glossy surface, as though the song is constantly trying to outrun the emotions at its centre, and that tension is precisely what makes it so compelling.
The result is a song that sounds far more expansive than its subject matter might initially suggest. ‘16’ is rooted in a deeply personal moment, Wormogenic wrote it after a birthday spent feeling isolated and alone, but the track refuses to stay confined to that experience. Instead, it transforms adolescent unease into something vivid and cinematic, finding exhilaration in the very feelings that threaten to overwhelm it.
Musically, Wormogenic occupies an intriguing space between retro-pop nostalgia, grunge-tinged alternative and the heightened theatricality of contemporary pop. There’s a darkness beneath the gloss, particularly in the synth work, which carries an atmospheric pulse reminiscent of New Order, while distorted guitars, bass and expansive electronic textures give the track a pleasingly roughened edge. It’s polished without feeling overly pristine.
Wormogenic describes the track as the “thesis statement” of her forthcoming debut EP, ‘Bandaids’, and it’s an apt description. The song establishes a world where growing pains become something to be explored rather than tidied away. Influences ranging from Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo to Caroline Polachek and Girl in Red can be felt around its edges, but Wormogenic is beginning to sound increasingly comfortable in her own vocabulary.
That makes ‘16’ more than simply another promising introduction. It feels like a statement of intent. Across ‘Bandaids’, Wormogenic plans to place the contradictions of adolescence, loneliness alongside escapism, anxiety beside exuberance, insecurity alongside self-expression, firmly at the centre of her songwriting. ‘16’ suggests she has found a compelling way to make those contradictions feel enormous.
For all its personal specificity, the song ultimately belongs to anyone who remembers feeling like they were supposed to be having the time of their life while quietly falling apart. Wormogenic gives that tension a huge chorus, a luminous electronic backdrop and just enough grit to keep the edges exposed. At three releases in, she already sounds less like an artist arriving on the scene and more like one beginning to define her own.