Upset The Rhythm presents…
PROTOMARTYR
Thursday 10 May
Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, King´s Cross, London, N1 9NL
7pm | £12.50 | http://www.wegottickets.com/event/420727
* Tickets go on sale at 10am on Wednesday 1st
November!
PROTOMARTYR return to London next May for their
biggest show yet! Protomartyr play a taut, austere rock that's been incubated
in a freezing Detroit warehouse littered with beer cans and cigarette butts and
warmed occasionally by space heaters. Short songs made for short practices, and
the band learned quickly not to waste time. Despite the cold, Protomartyr
emerged with a sound that is idiosyncratic but relatable, hooky but off-kilter.
With respect to the local predecessors, this isn't the primitive stomp of The
Dirtbombs or The Stooges' greasy roar. Punk works, kind of, even if it leaves
the hardcore kids confused. Post-punk suggests something too retro; indie rock,
something too precious. What Protomartyr is, is "stuck between the
cracks." If that's the case, though, they aren't alone. Protomartyr's
economical rock elicits comparisons to possible antecedents like Pere Ubu or
The Fall as well as local contemporaries like Frustrations or Tyvek (whose
frontman Kevin Boyer played bass in an early iteration of Protomartyr). Singer
Joe Casey's dry declarative snarl serves as a reliable anchor, granting his
bandmates (guitarist Greg Ahee, drummer Alex Leonard and bassist Scott
Davidson) the opportunity to explore textures and reinforce the rhythm section.
This is never more apparent than on the band's brand new album entitled
'Relatives In Descent’, out now through Domino. This show follows on from the
band’s long sold out Tufnell Park Dome show planned for next month.
Praise
for Relatives In Descent:
“Political, environmental,
epistemological, social, familial and individual anxieties fuel the latest
songs by Protomartyr, a band from Detroit that has been reclaiming the jagged,
muscular dissonances of post-punk for 21st-century America.” The New York Times (Album of the Week)
“Sensational, bloodied but
unbowed post-punk” The Guardian 5*
"Brooding and abrasive, the
Detroit post-punk group's new LP isn't for the faint of heart - but beauty lies
in its 12 knotty, pummeling tunes." Entertainment
Weekly
"Over the course of four
full-length albums, the Detroit-based band has produced a collection of
lyrically dense, deeply philosophical (and usually very loud) songs that
grapple with some of life's thorniest questions: What does it mean to be human?
What is truth? What is the nature of good and evil?" NPR Music
“Masters at articulating a
detached sense of anger and disgust” Uncut
8/10
"Is there any guitar band
quite as raw as Protomartyr? Closer to Swans or Glenn
Branca than their peers, Protomartyr stack simple sounds into a
churning, impenetrable wave of kinetic energy." SPIN
“A brilliant record –
Protomartyr’s best” Loud & Quiet
10/10 Album of the Week
"Oustanding” The Line of Best Fit (9/10, Album of the
Week)
“Detroit post-punks hit a new peak – their
best record yet” Q 4*
"Truly one of America’s
finest rock bands at this moment." Bandcamp
“A masterpiece” DIY 4*
“Protomartyr at their most unsettling and
their most accessible” Stereogum
“Bold, brash and unwavering” NME 4*
“Well-timed rock and roll that
tries to make sense of the ever-changing nature of the present” Noisey
“Breathtaking” Drowned in Sound 9/10
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