Protomartyr
She's just trying to reach you.
This hard to categorize eclectic quartet from Detroit is an amalgam of post-punk guitars that go from ambient sounds to heavy riffs, punchy drums, hefty bass and... John Casey a brilliant storyteller with a unique baritone voice. He, as any good screenwriter does, pushes the story forward, maneuvering the plot, always asking philosophical questions with his trademark mixture of spoken word, existential diatribe and subconscious writing.
The album opens with the following verse:
“Not by my own hand
Automatic writing by phantom limb
Not with my own voice
Pleurisy made to stand on two legs
That's how I bar my door”
To me, the perfect definition of what’s to come, as the story continues to evolve, is that it goes from the boredom of today’s politics to parenthood in current times to Elvis, Stalin, the essence of truth and the ending chorus of “Private Understanding,” which is the first song of the album: “She's just trying to reach you.” This becomes a puzzle we look forward to solving in the upcoming tracks, an inquiry that gets pounded many times until the song ends.
The album is as complex as the listener wants it to be. The perfect parallel to Protomartyr as a live act is this: the musicians are freely creating a connection to an audience that sings every word, feels every sound, and - when relevant - moshpits every riff.
In my opinion, their latest release is their most mature as a full album. The songs interconnect with sounds and ideas. Although “Relatives in Descent” is not considered a concept album, it has the flow of a good movie or a great book. It is a page turner to enjoy from beginning to end.
The album is as complex as the listener wants it to be. The perfect parallel to Protomartyr as a live act is this: the musicians are freely creating a connection to an audience that sings every word, feels every sound, and - when relevant - moshpits every riff.
In my opinion, their latest release is their most mature as a full album. The songs interconnect with sounds and ideas. Although “Relatives in Descent” is not considered a concept album, it has the flow of a good movie or a great book. It is a page turner to enjoy from beginning to end.
The show and the album both ended with the track “Half Sister,” a mellow piece that questions the essence of truth:
“Truth is a colicking horse
That serves no purpose
Truth is a babbling prisoner
You'd rather not kill if they confess
Truth is the half sister
That will not be forgotten
Truth is the half sister
That will not forgive”
As the song comes to a close, John Casey goes back to the beginning, singing: “She is trying to reach you.” This is the coda of the album - the word “just” from the first song was left out; and, it was the final line he sang at the show. It felt like an unanswered question that makes you listen even more carefully and, as any good film does, leaves the audience with a cliffhanger that makes them want more.
Williamsburg Music Hall, Brooklyn, October 29, 2017.
PHOTOGRAPHY: A.F. CORTÉS