Detroit garage noir post-punkers take a cathartic journey in the desert.
It’s funny, every new release cycle triggers all kinds of cliches from critics, whether it be about spiritual growth, expanding sounds, not being as “immediate” as earlier albums. When it comes to Protomartyr, that’s all pretty much hogwash. The Detroit post-punk band has been incredibly consistent throughout their 15 year career. Sure, debut No Passion All Technique (2012) is noticeably more raw than later work, but it’s all crafted with intelligent lyrics and high caliber music. Yes, they’re consistently dark and brooding, tackling the dark underbelly of culture and corruption. The apocalyptic dread, the dances with death, have recently been sparking mentions of goth, but I’ll stick to my garage noir tag, thank you muchly.
On their sixth album, the band literally and figuratively go to the desert, recording at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, where Joe Casey contends with the loss of his mother, subtly incorporating reverbed Western noir sounds of pedal steel guitar. It’s not a retooling of their sound, however, which remains recognizably consistent throughout their catalog, incorporating menacing Rowland S. Howard guitar influences with noise rock, and slightly different applications of art rock and punk with each album. At a distance or in the background, with Casey’s not exactly melodic vocals, it can feel like an oppressive gray slab of gloom, with roots in clenched-jaw 90s post-punk like Hammerhead and Tar. But closer listens opens up the details and shows why this band will never be forgettable, and their albums have staying power.
People often assume I live in a desert because I live in Texas, but it’s a big state that ranges from swamps and green forests, to beaches and mountains. They must be thinking of Roadrunner cartoons with towering rock formations, cacti and roads that go all the way to the horizon surrounded by sand. On the Mexican border close to New Mexico, that’s pretty much what Tornillo is, and the setting can be sensed in several tunes. Coincidentally, guitarist Greg Ahee has been scoring short films, and his co-production does lend toward a subtly cinematic pacing, particularly after the more rocking intros of “Make Way” and “For Tomorrow.” “Elimination Dances” doesn’t explicitly sound like Morricone’s spaghetti Westerns, but his spirit lurks in the atmosphere.
The raw rhythm section of Scott Davidson (fuzzed and distressed bass) and Alex Leonard’s click-clacking of sticks on rims reminds of recent work of Melbourne’s Tropical Fuck Storm, particularly when Casey spits out his verses with a dose of venom like Gareth Liddiard on “Let’s Tip the Creator.” Not to say Casey is copying him –both bands have evolved in parallel on opposite sides of the globe, though Liddiard spun up his first influential band The Drones in 1997, and their hybrid of punk blues, art rock, noise and garage noir certainly setting a precedent. On “3800 Tigers,” Casey’s ability to swing from addressing how there’s “far too many fools” left in the world compared to 3,800 surviving tigers, to the Detroit Tigers, would do Mark E. Smith proud.
There’s plenty of creative twists that distinguish this album, such as Ahee showing off an impressive arsenal of guitar riffs on “Polacrilex Kid,” Bill Radcliffe’s pedal steel contributions morphed into a lovely wash of shoegaze on “We Know the Rats,” which then evolves into a beautiful chiming melody after the two minute mark. Synths are used sparingly but effectively, giving closer “Rain Garden” an appropriately sweeping, almost celebratory conclusion to the album, perhaps a reflection on Casey’s recent marriage. The penultimate track is the most emotionally direct, addressing the death of Casey’s mother from Alzheimer’s on “The Author.”
The desert is often used as a metaphor of stillness and absence of life. Yet a closer examination of the ecosystem reveals the truth that it’s teeming with life — thousands of plant and animal species. The same could be said of Protomartyr’s music. The gray slab at a distance turns to vivid technicolour the closer you get to it.
Welcome to the Six Album Run Club
I strongly believe that a band’s stature and momentum are exponentially increased by a consistent run of strong albums. When many bands are averaging five or more years in between albums, or bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs fall prey to trendy production and styles that inspire creative faceplants, it’s no easy feat. Protomartyr have consistently gotten positive reviews, but there’s enough nitpicking and overlooking in year-end polls that they still remain relatively under the radar. Yet with their latest album, I would place them in the 7th spot of 21st Century six album runs so far.
- Colour Haze
- Motorpsycho
- Elder
- Radiohead
- Ufomammut
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Protomartyr
- Electric Wizard
- And Also the Trees
- Spoon
- The Black Angels
- Causa Sui
- Papir
The next most likely to enter the 6 Album Run Club are Baroness, Truckfighters, Graveyard, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Torche. I have no idea of TV on the Radio will ever do another album.
