Haunting, quirky and dynamic

Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr dives into the latter half of their name on their sixth studio album Formal Growth In The Desert. From distorted chords punctuated by percussion and progressive, haunting riffs to lyrical content spanning apocalyptic, fantasy-tinged stories and baseball references, the band easily takes to the dark side.

Lead vocalist Joe Casey welcomes the listener to “hungry earth” as a riff reminiscent of Echo and The Bunnymen floats around on the album’s opener, “Make Way.” However, the soft introduction doesn’t last long. After the verse, thunderous percussion provided by Alex Leonard and rapturous chords courtesy of guitarist Greg Ahee explode on the track. The soft and loud dynamics jump back and forth as if in battle throughout the song, becoming the perfect album opener because of its dramatic ending. 

Casey’s vocal style provides many comparisons from a baritone David Byrne of Talking Heads in his singing parts or in his more punctuated readings, a more aggressive Leonard Cohen from his final studio album, You Want It Darker. While his vocals can be monotone, Casey provides raw emotion in almost every way possible with little drawls and emphasizing words. On “Polacrilex Kid”, a track detailing the use of nicotine polacrilex to stop smoking, Casey’s emphasis stays consistent, always falling on the most important word of each line.

Over and over, Casey states that he is back, that he is here and there’s nothing that can take him out of that spotlight. Leonard’s percussion helps that emphasis come across clearer as his tom always hits on the back end of his vocalist’s lyricism. Ahee’s roaring guitar thunders ahead during each chorus section as Casey seems to leave himself some advice to keep going on: “Keep chewing, kid/ Keep chewing, kid.”

The perfect instrumental harmony on this album is something to be amazed by. Each member has their chance to shine throughout the record, leading to a balanced result that doesn’t feel forced. Ahee’s highlight hails from “Elimination Dances,” where his single note riff dominates the song’s landscape as a jagged edge. On the other hand, Leonard kills with his stick and tom pattern on both “Fun in Hi Skool” and “Let’s Tip the Creator.”

Bassist Scott Davidson steals the show with his opening bassline on the album’s best track “3800 Tigers.” Davidson’s funky riff is a staple throughout the song, only to be punctuated by fast drumming from Leonard and a furious riff from Ahee. The song is a love song to the group’s hometown baseball team, the Detroit Tigers, full of MLB lore and great baseball wordplay. 

From its nod to “Sweet Lou” Whitaker to its rallying cry to defeat their longstanding rivals the Chicago White Sox, “3800 Tigers” isn’t serious, but it’s certainly one of the best baseball songs out there. It perfectly paints the picture of fandom in one of the MLB’s most historic franchises: “In the future, rules change/ More brutal statistics/ Immaculate innings/ Through the darkness/ Above the violence.”

Overall, Protomartyr has embraced the darkness but they still provide quirky and out-of-the-box songs that invoke their old records just as much. They went up to the plate and easily hit a home run.