Released over a year after his debut solo album We Cool?, Worry was recorded in April and May 2016 at a house in Stinson Beach, California.

and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman achieve his greatest critical success, with numerous placements on year-end lists and previously unseen media exposure.

[5] On August 16, 2016, Rosenstock announced a tour with Hard Girls and Katie Ellen, with SideOneDummy Records hinting "Maybe that means a new album is coming soon?

[12] Worry was Rosenstock's first release on SideOneDummy Records, which inspired him to specifically write more politically conscious lyrics due to the wider audience he knew the album would have on a bigger label.

'"[18] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork stated that although "Rosenstock didn't really need a magnum opus to solidify his reputation as one of the most important figures in modern punk music", the potency of the album's political lyrical content was amplified following the election of Donald Trump less than a month after its release.

[12] Consequence of Sound wrote "Worry feels like the true start of Rosenstock's solo career, with a backing band that is finally locked in, a record label 100 percent behind him, and a tower of critical accolades growing taller each day.

"[3] Timothy Monger of AllMusic said that "At times wistful and contemplative, frequently explosive, and pleasantly damaged, Worry holds true to its creator's D.I.Y.

[14] In 2019, Entertainment Weekly named Worry the ninth-best overlooked album of the decade, stating that it "was released less than a month before Donald Trump was elected, but it still feels like the most accurate depiction of how things have felt since he took office.

The punk veteran was singing about gentrification, all-encompassing corporatization, and how our internet-induced anhedonia has made the bad things feel even worse.