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PRIDESWALLOWER: Lifeswallower: CD
Reminds me quite a bit of a slowed down piss-take of the Men’s Recovery Project Normal Man 7”, just not as dynamic and way too mired in feedback to make it terribly effective. It’s also kind of like, I don’t know, if one of the guys from Born Against and one of the guys from Tractor Sex Fatality met in a hillbilly bar, wanted to start a band that channeled Jon Spencer but decided to simply butt-funnel shots of snake venom instead, got wasted, decided to start the band anyway and asked Luke from Science Of Yabra to sing for em. It’s okay stuff, if somewhat repetitive. I mean, I bet they’re pretty crazed live, and probably manage to throw out some pretty good sonic bricks in a basement show, but it’s just falling a little flat and monotonous when it comes to ye olde compact disc listening.
–Keith Rosson (Auxillary)
PRIDS / LOOKBOOK: Split: 7"
Standard issue quiet/loud/quiet indie rock that will appeal to fans of Versus or Polvo. There were many records that sounded like this fifteen years ago and I am no more a fan of the style now than I was then. Nothing wrong with it, and these two bands probably do as good a job as anyone with this style of indie rock.
–Mike Frame (Poison Apple, poisonapplerecords.com)
PRIDS, THE: Glide, Screamer: EP
The second EP from this Portland (OR) based three-piece is three studio tracks and one live. Opening with the title track – which starts with an empty, delicate bass then in comes guitar and drums. This the dance club hit. Reminding me a bit of New Order, then bursting into a strong, dark rock. Low, even sexy, male vocals croon. Backing it are female vocals that are slightly off time from the main, which makes the vocal tracks very distinct. A five minute track that doesn't seem to ever last long enough. "Human Astronomy," is where you can see more of the slight shoe-gazer feel, female vocals are lead this time – where they come off coy and even sensual, with a monumental musical backing that at times even reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd (but in a good powerful way, I swear! Circa Meddle. Fuck you if you don't like Floyd!) – just because the breakdowns are so spacey and strong. Sending you into space, and then back down into the world you know – or wish you didn't. A quick two minute song, it makes quite an impact. Okay, that’s a little dramatic. But the Prids make me feel transcendent. What can I say? Side B, don't forget to slow the speed down (that gets me every time). More male vocals, "Persona Solara," is another danceable track. Songs about girls always make for drama with bands like this. Strings, keyboards, and more sensual vocals. I love the bass line that goes throughout this song, it really carries it – giving that Jesus & Mary Chain Psychocandy feel. The live track, "Duracraft," which is from their first EP (of the same title) is okay. The recording isn't the best. It sounds like it was recorded more in the audience. You can hear people talking and chit-chatting over screams and howls. I'm sure the studio track is lovely – a very Joy Division sounding track with a very pissed off sounding Mistina on vocals. Clocking in at almost seven minutes, it is a tad long as well. But shit, all the howling and screaming people do at the end sure make you wish you were there, beer in hand, dancing. If the Prids were around in 1985, the girls would have worn the same lipstick as Mistina, boys would have the same hair as Jarius, everyone would wear the same eyeliner as David, and they would have been here, there, and everywhere. Overall a great EP. I'm excited to hear more – hopefully a full length in the future. Yeah, neo-new wave! –Sarah Stierch
–Guest Contributor (Self released)
PRIESTS, THE: Self-titled: CD
Sludgy trash rock that owes a lot to early Cramps. It’s not bad, but it ain’t exactly crucial, either.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Garage Pop, PO Box 88003, Rochester, NY 14618)
PRIESTS, THE: Streetwalker: CD
Should I break it to them or should you? “The Makers already exist.”
–Namella J. Kim (Garage Pop)
PRIMATE 5, THE: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-Ape!: CD
I really like Go Metric! zine and I’ve found that my tastes in music and Go Metric! editor Mike Faloon’s taste in music is very, very similar. On top of that, Mike has taken it upon himself to allegedly put out the missing Weird Lovemakers album (I say allegedly because everything that has anything to do with the Weird Lovemakers is alleged at this point), and that’s my all-time favorite missing album. So it would just make sense that I’d go ape (get it?) over The Primate 5. They play a mix of surf and garage music – garage like ‘60s throwback rock’n’roll, not garage like The Hives, which is really just ‘90s style rock’n’roll – that sometimes has vocals (which are a good touch) and sometimes has lyrics (which are generally funny, especially in “Greenwood House of Mystery” and “Drinkin’ Bird”), but the music in and of itself is enough to keep this album interesting. This CD also comes with a pretty big insert about the band, but I lost the insert before I could read it, so, as a reviewer, I’m left with only the music to comment on. The songs are organ backed and bounce like something out of a Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello movie. Or not exactly like that, but like I always imagined a remake of those old Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello movies would be like if they had real surfers and real greasers and punk rockers in them. I’ve spent a lot of time stoned, watching those old movies. Well, okay, I spent two hours stoned one time, watching one of those old movies, but it was a vivid two hours and I came up with the perfect remake movie in my head, and now I know that The Primate 5 would be the perfect band to play it. If that makes any sense to anyone.
–Sean Carswell (Go Metric!)
PRIMES: Facades and Pink Forms: CD
Apparently, all of the bike couriers in Ottawa are crazy about weird, electronic pop music. Me, I run at the very mention of electronic music, and if a band gets on stage with a computer instead of a drum kit, I’m totally out of there. I am not very progressive. However, if you, like the bike couriers, enjoy music with bleeps and beats and fuzzy, buried vocal tracks, then maybe you would like this album.
–Jennifer Whiteford (Postfact)
PRIMES: Facades and Pink Forms: CD
Wild-sounding release from a Vancouver, B.C. duo. Front 242’s sonics and Skinny Puppy’s experimentalism are present, but it’s not self-indulgent. “Weapons Tanks Fire” and “Consumher” brought some insistent rhythms that have yet to leave my cranium. If you’re looking for synthpop that doesn’t fit into any preset categories, Facades is it. This probably sounds fantastic driving on the Autobahn at 2 AM.
–Sean Koepenick (Postfact)
PRIMITIVE HEARTS: Self-titled: Cassette
Putting on a five-song cassette with no information on it except three first names and having it rock is what it’s all about for me. This is a solid trio of players. The bass riffs are tasteful. The vocal harmonies are poppy and well executed. The drummer and guitarist play with a vocabulary of rocking, retro riffs. The pace of the songs hover around the speed of The Dead Boys’ “All This and More.” I was looking for a song to single out, but I like them all. Great tape. Keeper.
–Billups Allen (primitivehearts.com)
PRIMITIVE HEARTS: Self-titled: 7”
Primitive Hearts is a sturdy trio of punk’n’rollers. This four-song 7” includes two tunes from their recent excellent demo cassette and two new songs that don’t disappoint. Good all-around Dead Boys-inspired rock. All solid.
–Billups Allen (No Rules, norulesrecords.org)
PRINCESS: Self-titled: CD
Their website claims that Princess “willfully pushes musical contradiction and confusion to its elegant limits,” and I can go along with that to a fair degree. It kinda reminds me of early Devo meeting hip-hop sensibility with some John Zorn thrown in for flavor. (Or, is that flava?) Those around me right now claim that its experimental nature gets annoying because they’re trying too hard to be clever, and at times that’s true. Intentional enjambment of at-odds musical stylings can be hit or miss; when this hits, I’m enraptured, and when it misses I go racing for the skip button.
–The Lord Kveldulfr (Tony Chaos)
PRINCESS THUNDERSTORM: Self-Titled: 7"
Sometimes when I’m on the bus I wonder about things—like what all the classic rock greats (Black Sabbath, AC/DC, CCR, etc.) would sound like if they had grown up listening to punk, hardcore, and other alternative rock in between the years of 1984 and 1994. It definitely would not sound like classic rock, but it might sound like Princess Thunderstorm. They play unapologetic guitar-driven rock that doesn’t wank at all, with anywhere from one to four people unleashing some extremely venomous vocals over it. It’s a mighty combo of fury, tongue-in-cheek humor, and relentless DIY rock.
–Daryl Gussin (25th Hour)
PRINCESS THUNDERSTORM / ELECTRIC DAMN: Woodfin Confidential: Split 12”
Princess Thunderstorm: Given better recording capabilities, they really cleaned out the sound from last year’s 7” and are bringing out the full-blown metal. The guitars completely outweigh everything else on the record, but at least it’s still got those great pissed-off vocals that range from sung to a vicious yell. And the lyrics are still totally weird and punk. Electric Damn: This band is just tripped-out rock. There are lots of instrumental parts that involve massive amounts of harmonizing guitar solos. Headbangin’, mindblowing, hesher shit that borders on cock rock, if you don’t consider them the same thing. This makes me need to go listen to the Siege LP.
–Daryl Gussin (Family Night)
PRIVATE DANCER: Alive In High Five: LP
Drunken, flailing bar rock from Minneapolis. Similar to the Mannequin Men or hometown heroes The Replacements. These guys know how to take rock’n’roll tropes and pump them through their own keg with no foam. Highlights include “Diane,” the best rock’n’roll song I’ve heard this year; “Weekend,” which is either about having to work all weekend while your friends party or about your job being to rock out and party on the weekend; and the heartfelt glam of “All Souls Eaters Day.” I just realized it’s nearly six pm, so I should experience no guilt as I open a beer and play this again.
–CT Terry (Learning Curve)
PRIZE COUNTRY: Lottery of Recognition: CD
Well, it is nice to see the influences on the press sheet be spot-on for a change. It mentions Drive Like Jehu, Failure, Barkmarket, and Jesus Lizard—and that is exactly what you get here. I would also add in some Avail and Fugazi influences in the vocal department. Being that they are from Portland, OR, I might also throw in a comparison to locals Thirty3, who put out a pretty damn good full length a few years back. Fans of ‘90s Dischord or Touch And Go can’t go wrong with this disc. Also highly recommended for the Hot Water Music/Leatherface/No Idea crowd; if you love those gruff vocals, this is for you.
–Mike Frame (Exigent)
PRIZEFIGHT: Self-titled: CD
I want so badly to be wrong about bands, I can taste it. As soon as I saw the junior high art-project cover and the song titles that look like titles of really dripsy poems penned by Maya Angelou, I felt that sick feeling like when you find a butt hair on your toothbrush. This thing just screamed “emo” and I hadn’t even taken the CD out of the jewel case yet. But I hoped to be proven wrong. And lo and fucking behold, the first song “Happy Fun Ball” ripped out from the speakers and brought out full-blown visions of Slip-era Quicksand in my head and I got excited. The second song dipped a bit, but still sounded like a mix of Quicksand and late ‘90s Integrity. Maybe this will finally be the band to make me wrong, I thought. But no. If this CD would have been only one song long – even two – I would’ve given this an embarrassingly glowing review. But you fooled me. By song three I felt stupid and hopelessly right. I wasn’t wrong again. Fuck. Why do they continue to torture me?
–aphid (Loud + Clear)
PRIZY PRIZY PLEASE: Self-titled: CD
So I first heard of these guys after a bunch of praise from my friend/their label mate Jimmy of The Sass Dragons. Then I get this, with a fancy little promo/press sheet, which includes “RIYL Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants, Fugazi, The Unicorns.” Okay, nothing wrong with that. It just threw me for a loop. Then I put it on, and establish “Yeah, They Might Be Giants if they were some crazy, tiny record store/warehouse-playing hyper punk band” (and don’t get me wrong, I love me some TMBG). Calling this indie rock is an insult to innovative/creative punk bands.
–Joe Evans III (Let’s Pretend)
PRIZZY PRIZZY PLEASE: Self-titled: CD
So I’m driving around, reviewing the latest batch of stuff and I put this on. I’m hearing muscular punk/rock with enough quirk in it to make things interesting, right? But I keep fixating on the guitar player and thinking, “Wow, this dude plays really weird. He’s really happy with the harmonics and it sounds like he bangs, rather than strums the strings.” I get to where I’m going and take a look to see who this unique guitarist is. Turns out that, outside of a lead in one tune, there is no guitar player. All that noodly, distorted racket was being laid down by a keyboard player. Of course, that ratcheted up the “cool” factor by at least twenty points.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Let’s Pretend)
PRIZZY PRIZZY PLEASE: Chroma Cannon: CD
This is a reference I thought I would never use in Razorcake, but for all the world this band sounds to me like Bob Seger. Yes, a harder rocking, artier Bob Seger for sure, but Bob Seger none the less. The reason I say this is because the vocals have the bar rock vibe of something that would be on a classic rock station (In my hometown of Ruidoso it was 101.5, “The Kid”), and the alto sax on most of this album only reinforces that feeling. Some of the tracks like “Large Hadron Collider” and “New Shoes” actually have an alright spacey, party rock thing going on, but, man, I really don’t like the saxophone. It keeps making me feel like the song “Katmandu” is getting ready to jump out from behind a shady corner and aurally knee-cap me.
–Adrian (Joyful Noise)
PROBES, THE: You Know You Want It: CD
Boring, experimental garage-meets-grunge rock, or something like that. If this were a cereal, it’d be Honey Graham Oh’s—a somewhat random combination of various bland and somewhat un-tasty ingredients.
–Maddy (Rankoutsider, info@rankoutsiderrecords.com)
PROCEDURE, THE: Rise of New Reason: CD
Emo and hardcore mix about
as well as Kool-Aid and frog piss.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Blackout)
PROCESSION OF VULTURES: Self-Titled: 7"
A record that could work on 33 or 45. Side A plods along for a good long while before applying your face to a belt sander. Side B gets to the point a lot faster and I think the pay off is better. Heavy, screaming, emotional, belt sander. Apparently recorded in 2000 but finally mixed last year and released recently. Features people from Skarp, State Of The Union, and Wormwood. If you like any of those bands, there’s something here for you.
–Steveo (Inimical)
PROCLAMATION, THE: Self-titled: CD-R
Fairly mellow, lo-fi indie punk with a touch of horns (without it actually being ska). Did/are you going to college (not a knock)? Are you a Plan-It-X type dude? Then this is probably what you’d want to listen to in the days before graduation as you worry about the future and curse yourself over every minor mistake you’ve made over the past few years.
–Joe Evans III (Let’s Pretend)
PROFESSEUR LADYBUG, LE: Thou Art the Man!: CD
Not bad from a noise standpoint: feedback and what’s probably a drum machine support assorted other noises and man-talking. However, from a product standpoint, it seems a little pointless: it’s only ten minutes (one track), and it’s the soundtrack from someone’s video footage of a live performance. I would’ve rather seen the video. For more substantial Professeur Ladybug product, see Heat Lightning.
–Cuss Baxter (Horrendous Failure)
PROFESSEUR LADYBUG, LE: Thou Art the Man!: CD
Not bad from a noise standpoint: feedback and what’s probably a drum machine support assorted other noises and man-talking. However, from a product standpoint, it seems a little pointless: it’s only ten minutes (one track), and it’s the soundtrack from someone’s video footage of a live performance. I would’ve rather seen the video. For more substantial Professeur Ladybug product, see Heat Lightning.
–aphid (Horrendous Failure)
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