by Dominic Acito (@mycamgrlromance)
For a time, Protomartyr’s future seemed uncertain. With the pandemic hitting just as their 2020 album Ultimate Success Today was released, hampering any efforts to promote the album, the world seemed to make real all the bleakness of Protomartyr’s music. With the viability of continuing as a rock band in question, the band seemed so unsure and uninspired that guitarist Greg Ahee said he didn’t pick up the guitar for a year.
Luckily for us, Protomartyr have returned with their strongest and most optimistic album yet. Or at least, optimistic for Protomartyr. Their new album, Formal Growth in the Desert is Protomartyr’s way of expressing art finding its way in a world increasingly infertile for creativity. It’s a testament to art’s ability to spring forth in spite of the ever-tightening economic restraints and hope feeling evermore dim. Lyrically, Protomartyr excels in this setting meaning they no longer have to reach as far back as ancient Rome to make references to the decay of civilization.
While it is the catchy earworms and beautiful instrumentation that bring you into the album, it is the lyrics that keep the listener coming back. Singer Joe Casey’s musings on modern life are like sitting next to a philosophy professor late night at a dive bar. The album has a thematic flow, where the first track “Make Way” ends with the repetition of “make way for tomorrow,” the next track is titled “For Tomorrow,” reminding us of the constant march of time. The optimism in Formal Growth belies the world around it. On the song “Polacrilex Kid,” Casey asks the question, “can you hate yourself and still deserve love?” By the album’s bombastic end during the song “Rain Garden,” he answers his own question as the music climaxes around him by triumphantly declaring “I am deserving of love”.
This is an album that rewards repeated, close listening especially on headphones. As the record progresses, each song contains greater instrumentation building toward the crescendo in “Rain Garden,” a fierce wall of sound from guitars and synths. More intriguing are the many earworms which first hook the listener. Then when you come back to hear one of those moments such as Joe Casey’s hypnotic “I don’t want you to know” from the track “For Tomorrow,” you discover yet another compelling piece of music that continues to bring you back. Notable are the catchy Spaghetti Western style guitar licks that appear throughout the album. Formal Growth is a master class in unconventional drumming with a conventional drum kit showcased in songs like “Fun in Hi Skool” and “The Author”.