Protomartyr - Consolation EP

Detroit Michigan Post-Punkers Protomartyr have been at is for years now making super gloomy, atmospheric, goth-tinged Punk.  I actually got introduced to them when I saw them by chance at Pitchfork's music festival a few years back when they absolutely blew everyone away with their performance.  Now, truth be told I'm not too wild about their 2012 debut "No Passion All Technique".  The recording here is a little sloppy, even for Punk standards, and that great atmosphere that they would once end up ruling over is nowhere in sight.  However, frontman Joe Casey right off the bat was so charismatic and interesting to listen to.  Plus, Protomartyr absolutely had the energy that they needed to rule over this genre down to a science.  Thankfully, Protomartyr cleaned up their act very quickly with their 2014 album "Under Color of Official Right".  This album was much more abrasive and intense, while simultaneously sounding so much better on paper.  It's an album that pulls from Hardcore Punk to an extent while sticking to the band's Gothic, Post-Punk roots.  But to me, what made this album so interesting was just how hypnotizing the band's material was becoming.  This album had track after track with these absolutely haunting hooks that locked inside your mind and just wouldn't leave.  It's not a perfect Post-Punk album, but it's a very strong showing.  However, with Protomartyr's 2015 album "The Agent Intellect", they nailed their sound.  This was a dark, moody album that had distanced itself completely from the band's early Punk material.  Tracks like "I Forgive You" and "Why Does It Shake" proved that the band had simply put, mastered the art of creating a dense atmosphere.  For the first time, I felt like Protomartyr weren't just followers, but completely leading the Post Punk sound. Protomartyr returned in 2017 with the absolutely massive "Relatives in Descent", one of my favorites of 2017.  This album saw the band going further down the rabbit hole of darkness, with frontman Joe Casey sounding less like a singer and more of some manic lunatic ranting and raving over the band's heaviest produced tracks yet.  This album is by far the most hulking and heavy hitting of the discography, with tracks like "A Private Understanding" and "Don't Go To Anacita" being perfect tracks to start with if you've never really listened to Protomartyr.  But it was intense, throttling tracks like "Up The Tower" and "Male Plague" that made me keep returning to this one.  So I'll be honest, I really wasn't expecting to hear from Protomartyr this soon.  But they're back with a new EP, with some of their grizzliest, moody and artsiest material to date, and THAT'S exciting.  Let's chat boys and girls.

(A personal favorite of mine!)

This EP starts off with “Wait”, and right off the bat Protomartyr are back to their grizzliest and most abrasive.  The atmosphere sadly, isn’t all here though, at least for me.  Like, to me, this doesn’t sound like it was made recently from Protomartyr, it actually sounds more like the band’s early material with a lot more Noise Rock and Hardcore influences.  It also doesn’t have that same gloomy, thick atmosphere that their last album had.  Plus, not hearing Joe Casey in a more upbeat or wildly aggressive atmosphere just takes a little away.  This is sadly, not the intro I wanted to hear.   But instantly “Same Face In A Different Mirror” puts me right back in the mood I want to be in.  This track is murky, gloomy, and in every way just so much more intense.  I love Joe’s very intense, succinct performance here which is just so twisted.  Not to mention, even lyrically this is just so cryptic, this would have landed wonderfully on a recent release of theirs.  And yea, I sort of wouldn’t mind if this was a little more upbeat or heavier, but this is still awesome.  On the other hand, “Wheel Of Fortune” is just a legitimately crushing Post-Punk exercise in destruction.  Joe hasn’t sounded this charismatic and wild in a long time, and I love just how over the top this one is.  And Kelley freakin' Deal of the breeders on backing vocals actually nails it and really does a great job of balancing out Joe’s performance.  And speaking Joe’s performance, it just gets more and more out of control, even lyrically I have occasionally stop for a minute and just take it all in.  Then this one transfers into this very slow, brooding track.  It’s gloomy, murky, nocturnal, and comes off incredibly dangerous.  It’s an artsier sound than we’ve gotten recently from Protomartyr, but I want to hear more.   This EP ends off with “You Win Again”, and when Protomartyr really gets into their groove it’s really hard to get them out of it.  This one is almost elegant and continues to show them going down a very artsy route.   Joe comes off almost romantic sounding in a weird way, but it remains just as dangerous and twisted.  Kelley’s performance on this one is a fraction of how impactful it was on the last track.  But still, Joe and the boys hold their own.  And yea, the very artsy vibes of this EP rage on with these very Avant-Garde horns, which I’m actually totally curious to hear more of, but I need to hear more of it.  This EP is solid and all, but I do just sort of wish they went back into album mode. 

Rating: 7.2/10

Genre: Post-Punk

Overall Thoughts:  Protomartyr returns after not even a year away with a very Arsty, yet still just as gloomy E.P. And no, it's certainly not terrible.  Like I said, with some very suave performances and obtuse horns, this is a completely new side to the band.  But because it's just such a small sampling of this sound, I don't know if I'm completely into it yet.  Hell, I don't even know if Protomartyr themselves are completely behind it.  But for now it seems like an interesting direction to go in, they just need to iron out some kinks.