Twerp Verse

On February 21, 2018, the band announced the release of their new album, along with the first single "Lucky 88".[14] The music video was released the same day, and was directed and produced by Emily Yoshida.[15]

The second single "Lean In When I Suffer" was released on March 23, 2018.[16] The music video, directed by Ari Ratner, features the band in a "happyness bootcamp" to show the pressures of depression.[17]

The third single "Villain" was released on April 11, 2018.[18]

Twerp Verse was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 79, based on 19 reviews.[3] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 75 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 23 reviews.[19]

Brody Kenny of The 405 said the release "is Speedy Ortiz’s poppiest album yet, with plenty of synths, hooks, and an overall brighter sheen."[4] Heather Phares of AllMusic explained: "It's easily the band's most direct album, but rather than dumbing things down, they've removed anything that might get in the way of their messages. The more defiant they are, the more accessible they get, and they kick off the album with some of their hookiest songs."[1] Ian Rodgers from Exclaim! explained the album "is a solid entry that should please fans of Speedy Ortiz and might also gain them some new ones with its hints of pop. The guitars are in punk-grunge tuning, but there are recognizable hooks. The album deftly combines fantasy aspects with a real darkness in its lyrics."[7]