Heralded post-punks Protomartyr are very high on people's radar right now as the band prepares to launch its third album, The Agent Intellect, to a new attentive fan base that is expecting a lot from the band. That scrutiny begins now as you can stream the album in full below via NPR.
Joe Casey leads the band with his uncaring vocals that are more often spoken than they are sung. Guitarist Greg Ahee, bassist Scott Davidson and drummer Alex Leonard round out the rest of the band creating the haunting, brooding post-punk sound born from the crippled car industry of Detroit.
Agent Intellect immediately hits you with all the weight that comes with Protomartyr's music started on No Passion All Technique and continued on 2014's Under Color of Official Right, which had many critics praising the band landing them on many of the year's best of lists.
As NPR notes, it's incredible the frontman, in his mid-30s, has so widely captured the attention of critics who often favor youthful angst in our crowded music climate. But the band's innovative sound is so dark and immersive you can't help but be sucked in by the world it occupies.
"Social pressures exist / And if you think about them all of the time / You're gonna find that your head's been kicked in," Casey drones on the less than uplifting track "Cowards Starve," commenting on today's anxiety ridden youth.
Not all the songs have such a bleak outlook on life as there's a certain sense of humor to the songs "The Hermit" and "I Forgive You," as well as a touching and introspective moment on the tune "Ellen," a tribute to his living mother from the perspective of his late father.
Listen to the album below via an NPR First Listen premier. The Agent Intellect officially drops October 9, via Hardly Art, preorder the vinyl here.
