Detroit rockers Protomartyr have had a pretty solid year since I caught them at SXSW this year. They’ve been getting praise from nearly everyone for their new album Under Color Of Official Right (rightfully so) and have been touring steadily pretty much all year.
I caught them again this year for Brooklynvegan’s free CMJ day party at Baby’s All Right. There’s something about the dry delivery from vocalist Joe Casey, wearing sunglasses while dressed in a nice jacket, miller high life in hand. He’s not your typical frontman, but then again, Protomartyr aren’t your typical band. They tap into something that is more than the “post-punk” title that is slapped onto them. Take the sprawling disdain of Under Color Of Official Right track “Come & See”, and it hits at something personal and real, something deep within your core that you weren’t even aware of. Or the sinister guitar work of guitarist Greg Ahee on “Scum, Rise” that sounds like if The Clash somehow collided with the bleary sound of Savages. Protomartyr are not flashy about their business, but man, do they get it done.
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