Protomartyr
“Sounds We Cannot Hear”
Domino Recording Co. (available via Bandcamp)
“It is not easy listening. It’s essential.”
That’s part of the messaging behind Detroit’s own Protomartyr and the band’s upcoming seventh album Hotel Usona, due September 25 via Domino Recording Co.
The “not easy listening” part is certainly more focused on the lyrics themselves as songwriter and vocalist Joe Casey imagines America’s current state as an aging, sagging hotel. Down every hallway, an issue. Inside every room, a horror to be seen. Sure, there’s continental breakfast but it’s likely contaminated, at least in the eyes of Protomartyr.
Musically, on lead single “Sounds We Cannot Hear,” Protomartyr is the most accessible they’ve ever been. It is the easiest listening they’ve offered up, joining waves of post-punk bands that slowly grow over time, chill out on the aggressiveness, and start applying a lot of texture and sampling that you’d find on a Madlib record.
The result is the same punch you’d want out of a Protomartyr song, but way more sonically to chew on and enjoy. There’s even a brass section on “Sounds We Cannot Hear,” which guitarist Greg Ahee layered with influences from the Middle East and ’50s exotica.
While Protomartyr is getting set to release essentially a concept album in September with a lot of lyrical density, “Sounds We Cannot Hear” suggests it could be their most accessible release yet. For one of the biggest bands to come out of Detroit, I’d predict they’re about to get even bigger and adopt a whole new audience with a more mature, layered sound.
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