#25: Death Valley Girls – Levitation Sessions: Live from the Astral Plane
Your live psychedelic rock album can’t miss when the first track is a guide to astral projection. You also can’t miss when it’s full of wild rock, passionate vocals, and, for all I know, tantric magic.
#24: Deeper – Auto-Pain
Wow. I mean…Wow. This post-punk record covers some serious subjects (suicide, existential angst, boredom, ennui, technological creep) and does it with serious chops and resolve.
#23: All Them Witches – Nothing As the Ideal
All Them Witches returned with possibly their heaviest album to date. Nothing As the Idealis almost a Black Sabbath record in its tone and sheer sonic weight. It sounds like they were getting out all their frustration of not being able to tour on the record. It’s a cathartic gem.
#22: Protomartyr – Unlimited Success Today
Protomartyr put out one of the mots intriguing records of 2020. Unlimited Success Today is layered with stunning guitar chords, powerhouse drumming, and mysterious lyrics that sometimes read and sound like a madman yelling atop a milk crate in the middle of a busy intersection in your town.
#21: Gordon Koang – Unity
Possibly the most uplifting album of 2020, Unityis the tale of refugee Gordon Koang finally becoming an Australian citizen. Koang is a musical superstar in Africa, but fled the continent due to civil war and threats on his life. Despite all his tribulations, Unity is a record full of hope (not to mention fun Afrobeat tracks) that we needed last year.
I love the title of Protomartyr‘s new album – Ultimate Success Today. It’s a great encapsulation of modern living. Everyone wants to be the ultimate success, which can be a worthy goal if one’s motives are good, but the key is in the last word of the album’s title. Everyone wants ultimate success today. We want everything now and, thanks to advertising and the internet, we fully expect to be able to have it now or before anyone else.
The album is about not only this consumerist desire and addiction, but also fear (of the path the world seems to be taking), how the world’s energy affects us, and how our actions, big or small, affect the world.
Opening track “Day Without End” builds over the course of three minutes and sixteen seconds with surging guitars from Greg Ahee, frantic cymbals by Alex Leonard, and sermon-like vocals from Joe Casey. Scott Davidson‘s bass leads the outstanding “Being Processed By the Boys” along a dark, menacing road while Casey sings about “a dagger punched from out of the shadows,” “a cosmic grief beyond all comprehension,” and “a giant beast turning mountains into black holes.” So, yeah, light fare.
“Though I have no face, country, or creed, I am better than you are,” Casey sings on “I Am You Now” – a song that claps back at the anger expressed by so many over so little. It also has some of Leonard’s best drumming on the album. He seems to play nothing but drum fills and cymbal rolls. He’s not. It’s far more complex, a sort of controlled chaos. “Narcissism is a killer,” Casey sings on “The Aphorist” – which might be the most “upbeat” track on Ultimate Success Today. He’s right. It is, and so is that wicked bridge around the two-and-a-half-minute mark.
Nandi Rose joins Casey on the vocals for “June 21,” which brings in post-punk guitar work from Ahee for a neat change in direction. “Michigan Hammers” moves along at a quick groove thanks to Leonard’s passionate drumming and Davidson’s bear trap-locked in bass line. His bass is pure fuzzed-out bliss on “Tranquilizer,” which also has a great saxophone line running through it by jazz legend Jameel Moondoc. The song explodes into a wild, head-spinning cacophony and then settles down before it makes you lose (or loose) your mind.
The fast, post-punk riffs of “Modern Business Hymns” are fantastic. “Bridge Crown” slows down to almost a goth-country sound before Casey starts crooning about, you guessed it, ultimate success (which is also referenced in the song before it by name). Casey opens the closing track, “Worm in Heaven,” with the lyrics, “So it’s time to say goodbye. I was never too keen on last words.” The song is the closest thing to a ballad on the album, and one can’t help but wonder if it’s a sign-off for not only the album but also the band. I hope not, because Protomartyr are firing on all cylinders right now.
Protomartyr release a new single/video, “Michigan Hammers,” off of their new album, Ultimate Success Today, out July 17th on Domino. Following “Worm in Heaven” and “Processed By The Boys,” “Michigan Hammers” is fierce with staccato guitar and thrashing percussion. Singer Joe Casey’s voice is forceful and insistent: “The Michigan Hammers are on their way // A chant from the end of the bar, not all of them on pills // Break apart the surface lot // What’s been torn down can be rebuilt // What has been rebuilt can be destroyed.”
The accompanying video was directed by Yoonha Park, who was responsible for the band’s “Wheel of Fortune” and “Don’t Go To Anacita” videos, and was built entirely of found stock footage. “This video is a retelling of a well-known Michigan folk tale that describes timeless themes of greed, power, death and rebirth and nothing short of the conflict of good and evil,” says Park.
Joe Casey further explains: “Couldn’t make a ‘proper’ video due to the miasma. So why not make one using what tools remain? That’s sort of what MICHIGAN HAMMERS is about I think – building with rubble. It’s probably about that and mules, syndicates, too many parking lots, camaraderie, the ideal happy hour, failure, and takin’ what they’re givin’ ’cause we’re workin’ for a livin’ until we start takin’ it to the streets. Or something like that.” WATCH PROTOMARTYR’S VIDEO FOR “MICHIGAN HAMMERS”
Protomartyr is Joe Casey (vocals), Greg Ahee (guitars), Alex Leonard (drums), and Scott Davidson (bass guitar). Ultimate Success Today features guest musicians Nandi Rose (vocals) a.k.a. Half Waif, jazz legend Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax), Izaak Mills (bass clarinet, sax, flute), and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello).
Ultimate Success Today is available to pre-order now on LP, CD and digital formats. A limited blue-in-red colored edition of the LP is available exclusively on the Domino Mart. WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “WORM IN HEAVEN”
“pretty uncharacteristic one for the group, restrained up until its final shuddering moments. Moody and meditative, it’s almost what would pass as a ballad in Protomartyr’s world.” – Stereogum
“relatively low-key and mellow, following a slinky guitar line while singer Joe Casey reflects about how close he is to heaven’s gates.” – Consequence of Sound
PRAISE FOR “PROCESSED BY THE BOYS”
“The seismic first cut off the Detroit band’s fifth LP Ultimate Success Today rattles with “cosmic grief beyond all comprehension.” Its video, a bizarre tribute to the Brazillian meme “Gil da Esfiha vs Galerito,” is equally discombobulating.” – The FADER
“On lead single ‘Processed By The Boys,’ out now, Casey once again casts his drunken-philosopher gaze on the world’s ills, backed by a reverb-laden stomp that builds into the kind of cacophony this band does best.” – Stereogum
Today Protomartyr announce their fifth album, Ultimate SuccessToday, out May 29th on Domino. Following the release of Relatives In Descent, the band’s critically acclaimed headlong dive into the morass of American life in 2017 (featured on myriad “best of” lists, including The New York Times, Esquire, Newsweek, and more), Ultimate Success Today continues to further expand the possibilities of what a Protomartyr album can sound like. Along with today’s album announcement, the band shares the video for their first single “Processed By The Boys,” and announces a summer North American tour. WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “PROCESSED BY THE BOYS” http://smarturl.it/PBTBYT
PRE-ORDER ULTIMATE SUCCESS TODAY Domino Mart | Digital “There is darkness in the poetry of Ultimate Success Today,” says punk legend, founding member of the Raincoats, and friend of the band Ana da Silva. “The theme of things ending, above all human existence, is present and reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Our world has reached a point that makes us afraid: fires, floods, earthquakes, hunger, war, intolerance…There are cries of despair. Is there hope? Greed is the sickness that puts life in danger.”
“The re-release of our first album had me thinking about the passage of time and its ultimate conclusion,” says singer Joe Casey of Ultimate Success Today. “Listening to No Passion All Technique again, I could hear myself hoping for an introduction and a long future, but also being cognizant that it could be ‘one and done’ for us. So, when it came time to write Ultimate Success Today, I was reminded of that first urgency and how it was an inverse of my current grapple with how terribly ill I’ve been feeling lately. Was that sick feeling coloring how I felt about the state of the world or was it the other way around?”
“This panic was freeing in a way. It allowed me to see our fifth album as a possible valediction of some confusingly loud five-act play. In the same light I see it as an interesting mile marker of our first decade of being a band – a crest of the hill along a long highway. Although just to cover my bases, I made sure to get my last words in while I still had the breath to say them.”
“There are exquisite, subtle gifts from other instruments that always heighten the guitar, instead of fighting with it,” explains da Silva. “They help to create a harmonious wall of sound all of its own. This was intentional. Greg Ahee wanted to use different textures other than pedals, and the drone quality of some of those instruments colours the guitar and the whole sound with a warm, rich in reverb, yet all-consuming landscape for Joe Casey’s voice.”
The video for “Processed By The Boys,” directed by David Allen & Nathan Faustyn and produced by HLPTV & LooseMeat.Biz, is a play on a bizarre Brazilian TV clip the band became infatuated with. A man sings to a studio audience, while a member of the audience becomes enraged by a puppet, leading the whole situation to devolve into total chaos. “As soon as we heard the concept, we knew how to take the band’s ideas and coalesce them into this sort of timeless public access chaos,” says Faustyn. “Because of the nature of HLPTV & LooseMeat.Biz and who we are – professional and hobbyist technicians – we knew we could pull off a really strange, funny and sardonically dark compendium to this song that is equally such.”
Protomartyr is Joe Casey (vocals), Greg Ahee (guitars), Alex Leonard (drums), and Scott Davidson (bass guitar). Ultimate Success Today was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios, a late 19th century church, in upstate New York and co-produced by the band and David Tolomei (Dirty Projectors, Beach House) with mixing by Tolomei. Featured guest musicians on the album include Nandi Rose (vocals) a.k.a. Half Waif, jazz legend Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax), Izaak Mills (bass clarinet, sax, flute), and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello).
Ultimate Success Today is available to pre-order now on LP, CD and digital formats. A limited blue-in-red colored edition of the LP is available exclusively on the Domino Mart.
ULTIMATE SUCCESS TODAY TRACKLISTING
1. Day Without End 2. Processed By The Boys 3. I Am You Now 4. The Aphorist 5. June 21 6. Michigan Hammers 7. Tranquilizer 8. Modern Business Hymns 9. Bridge & Crown 10. Worm In Heaven
PROTOMARTYR TOUR DATES (new dates in bold)
Mon. April 27 – London, UK @ Peckham Audio – SOLD OUT Tue. April 28 – London, UK @ The Lexington – SOLD OUT Wed. April 29 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire – SOLD OUT Thu. April 30 -Utrecht, NL @ Ekko – SOLD OUT Sat. May 2 -Berlin, DE @ Ubran Spree Sun. May 3 – Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree Mon. May 4 – Groningen, NL @ Vera Tue. May 5 – Brussels, BE @ Nuits Botanique Mon. June 1 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Tue. June 2 – Montreal, QC @ Le Ritz Wed. June 3 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair Thu. June 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Sat. June 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Sun. June 7 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat Tue. June 9 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Wed. June 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Earl Thu. June 11 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa Fri. June 12 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada Mon. June 15 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress Tue. June 16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge Wed. June 17 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah Thu. June 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Fri. June 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Sat. June 20 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club Mon. June 22 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Tue. June 23 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Fri. June 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Sat. June 27 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club Sun. June 28 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Protomartyr Online: https://www.facebook.com/protomartyr https://soundcloud.com/protomartyr http://pitchperfectpr.com/protomartyr https://protomartyr.bandcamp.com http://www.dominorecordco.us/artists/protomartyr
