Has it really been six years since I've reviewed a Protomartyr record? Reflecting on how bored I was with that one in 2020, I'm happy to report that Hotel Usona is at least marginally more interesting. In spots.
Opener "The Old Hotel" starts things off on a down-tempo note, the energies here being held in check even as the tune recalls early Editors and Doves in a big way. With Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann (ex-Mercury Rev) at the helm, Hotel Usona has depth in its sound, even with the familiar, somewhat plodding stuff here. There's no real forward progression for this band with songs like "Feed the Sewer" and "Sounds We Cannot Hear", a number that sounds more like Bush than The Jesus Lizard despite some interesting creaking production effects. If you've heard any Protomartyr record, you've heard these two before, certainly.
These Michigan folks are aiming for something hard here, and it only works sometimes. What's more interesting is where the usual Protomartyr approach takes a detour. Supposedly "Converts" is about JD Vance, but it's more effective musically than lyrically. The tune has a sinewy hook that is carried forward on skittering guitars, sleek synths, and what sound like horn samples. It's one of the better tracks here, as is "The Knife Dream", and both couldn't be more different from most of this band's usual stuff. The single, "Exalted Eagles" is fine, I guess, but to these ears it sounds like what Girls Against Boys did better 30 years ago.
All that being said, there's clearly an audience for this band -- heck, I used to be a member of it. But it's hard to get jazzed about lots of what's on Hotel Usona given how so much of it sounds exactly like you'd expect it to sound if you've heard any Protomartyr album before. Still, there are moments here -- mostly thanks to producer Fridmann -- where a new sound briefly takes hold, and the band surprises, even if for a few fleeting moments among these 45 minutes.
Hotel Usona by Protomartyr is out on Domino this week.
[Photo: Trevor Naud]