There is darkness in the poetry of Ultimate Success Today,
PROTOMARTYR’s fifth album. The theme of things ending, above all
human existence, is present and reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s
‘The Road’.
‘Day Without End’, the first song, sets the tone for the whole
album. “This is the dawning of the day without end / when fear steps
into light”. The music here sounds delicate, airy and at the same
time carried by an insistent, light, metallic drum part by Alex
Leonard and a punctuating bass line by Scott Davidson.
There are exquisite, subtle gifts from other instruments that always
heighten the guitar, instead of fighting with it. They help to create
a harmonious wall of sound all of its own. This was intentional. Greg
Ahee wanted to use different textures other than pedals, and the drone
quality of some of those instruments colours the guitar and the whole
sound with a warm, rich in reverb, yet all-consuming landscape for Joe
Casey’s voice.
The album was recorded in a late 19th century church Dreamland
Recording Studios in upstate New York, which still has its original
high arched ceilings, creating a natural and eerie reverb. Protomartyr
co-produced these songs with David Tolomei, who thought they would
capture the essence of the place. The quality of sound enhances the
idea of disappearance, of dissolving away through the high ceiling.
Sometimes it brings us back to life and “Everybody’s hunted with a
smile / being processed by the boys”. And it sounds like “a riot
in the streets”.
The musicians that joined the band for these recordings are Jemeel
Moondoc (Alto Sax), Izaak Mills (bass clarinet, sax, flute), Fred
Lonberg-Holm (cello) and Nandi Plunkett (vocals). They were encouraged
to bring in ideas of their own, making this a collaborative and open
work. These wind and string instruments add richness to every song.
Greg Ahee was inspired by Bennie Maupin’s ‘Jewel in the Lotus’
and by how everything moves harmoniously, in togetherness. Being open
and together could make us stronger for “When the ending comes is it
gonna run at us like a wild-eyed animal”. In ‘I Am You Now’
there is a section where the drums keep it grounded, the bass melodic,
a beautiful drone of guitar, cello and sax, that sounds suspended,
until everything comes crashing again, followed by a sustained guitar
chord for every line.
Ultimate Success Today moves like a river, with waves of sound that
are quiet, loud, empty, full, but flowing together and shaping itself
around the words. The songs flow from ‘Day Without End’ to the
final song ‘Worm in Heaven’, “I was here / I was / or / never
was”, one to the next with no silence, just the dying of a sound or
recordings from the woods/world outside the studio.
Our world has reached a point that makes us afraid: fires, floods,
earthquakes, hunger, war, intolerance…There are cries of despair. Is
there hope? Greed is the sickness that puts life in danger - “a
floating shadow of a hand across my heart”.
“I wish you well, I do / may you find peace in this world”. Ana da
Silva
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08/06/2020 Last update