Protomartyr

Protomartyr is an American post-punk band formed in in 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. It features Joe Casey on vocals, Greg Ahee on guitar, Alex Leonard on drums and Scott Davidson on bass guitar.

History

Prior to Protomartyr, Greg Ahee and Alex Leonard were performing as a duo, which was named Butt Babies. They were soon joined by Joe Casey, who started to perform on vocals at Butt Babies shows. Kevin Boyer of Tvyek joined Protomartyr on bass and second guitar for a short time before leaving the act due to the working schedules with his other band. As Scott Davidson joined the band on bass, Butt Babies transformed into Protomartyr.[1][2]

The band released their debut album, No Passion All Technique in 2012 via Urinal Cake Records.[2] This was followed by "Colpi Proibiti" in the same year, via X! Records.[2] Their sophomore studio album, Under Color of Official Right, will be released on April 8, 2014 via Hardly Art record label.[3]

The band has extensively toured in the United States[4] and performed at SXSW festival in 2014.[5]
Musical style

The band's music has been labeled as post-punk[1][5][6][7][8] and punk rock.[8] Josh Terry of Consequence of Sound stated that the band's "blends the moody atmospherics of ‘70s U.K. post-punk with the raw sensibility of their Motor City garage-rock forebears."[7] The band's sound was compared to other post-punk acts such as Wire, the Fall, Pere Ubu, the Constantines and Iceage,[1][9] as well as local acts such as Tyvek and Bars of Gold.[8] Vocalist Joe Casey also expressed appreciation for Pere ubu and the Fall.[1][2]

Casey's baritone vocals were also compared to those of Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Mark E. Smith of the Fall and Nick Cave.[2][7][10][11]

References

DeVille, Chris (March 5, 2014). "Band To Watch: Protomartyr". Stereogum. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Callwood, Brett (January 16, 2013). "Punk N’ Disorderly". Metro Times. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
McGovern, Kyle (January 10, 2014). "Stream Protomartyr's Post-Punk Punisher 'Scum, Rise!'". Spin. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
"5 Questions with: Protomartyr". BrooklynVegan. March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Roberts, Randall (March 16, 2014). "SXSW 2014: All hail the losers, the misanthropes and the unhip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Larson, Jeremy (February 25, 2014). "Protomartyr - "Come & See"". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Terry, Josh (February 26, 2014). "Listen: Protomartyr’s new song "Come & See"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
DeVille, Chris (January 10, 2014). "Protomartyr – "Scum, Rise!"". Stereogum. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Hann, Michael (March 6, 2014). "Protomartyr: Detroit punk strikes back". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
McDermott, Patrick (February 24, 2014). "Stream: Protomartyr, "Come & See"". The Fader. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
Minsker, Evan (June 17, 2013). "Protomartyr - No Passion All Technique". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 31, 2014.