Review Summary: Our guests are revolting but never complain.
The downfall of the United States, becoming a parody of itself lately has already been documented by many journalists, artists and other public figures. Nevertheless, if Protomartyr decided to take their shot at it, I would definitely want to listen to their opinion. Front man Joe Casey has the knack for detailing such events from the points of view of both a news anchorman, as well as a tipsy, fed up with life accountant ranting at the bar late at night about the state of the world. A considerable part of the band’s latest project,
Hotel Usona is based around this topic, however, as always, there is also the personal content which never fails to hit the listener hard. Each song here is meant to represent a room occupied by a troublesome guest, thus, the vibe from one to another varies considerably. Meanwhile, the music is perhaps the most Morricone-influenced in the Detroit quartet’s discography so far, an often epic and cinematic soundtrack to a decaying country and the questionable times we are currently living in.
Right from the first listen, you can hear the rich layering, plus the orchestral arrangements, which definitely enhance the tunes. Opener, “The Old Hotel” acts as a manifesto for the entire record, dropping the idea that no matter how unpleasant things are at home, you still return to it, because it’s your comfort zone. The instrumental echoes this feeling, a bittersweet melody topped by often triumphant sounding horns. First single, “Sounds We Cannot Hear” follows, with a marching drum beat and guitar washes, while Casey soon drops his lyrics like a piano down from the roof. Singing in a more discreet and melodic way than usual, he switches from a rather defeated tone during the verses to powerful choruses. The man describes how we use social media to numb ourselves from our daily struggles, so we become indifferent even to the heaviest topics or issues out there. He adopts a similar singing style on “Exalted Eagles”, dealing with patriotism gone wrong as the tune builds from a piano progression to more aggressive hooks. It reminds a bit of “Make Way”, yet the band plays a fitting, dramatic western-type rhythm around the vocals. Moreover, “The Knife Dream” could very well be its counterpart, full of jazzy orchestral arrangements and dissonant detours. This is probably the most experimental tune in their catalog so far and if they decided to explore this direction, it could lead to very interesting results in the future.
The second half of
Hotel Usona shares excellent moments too, “Lavender – Gospel” being another highlight. The blend of strings, synthesizers and guitar parts over the tom-heavy drumming and bass punctuations sounds gorgeous. A fine decision was to push Joe’s vocals back in the mix here, as the emphasis is clearly on the instruments. Also, the closing number, “Checking Out” starts with a poignant drone before a busy groove kicks in, alongside Casey, who offers insight into fatherhood and his concerns about the direction things are heading out there. It is normal to be a bit afraid regarding the world your offspring will grow up and live in, especially now that tension builds up all around. There is an uneasy vibe this track conveys, often conflicting with the lyrics, which end with a hopeful message.
There is significantly less straightforward aggression on
Hotel Usona, but Protomartyr displayed for several years now a desire to move past their initial sound to a more ambitious and rich atmosphere in their music. The latter direction is on full display here with few exceptions, but even those tunes have multiple segments overall. “Feed the Sewer” is the main example, starting in a chaotic way, with loud drums, sliding bass lines and thrilling horns, only to dissolve into a lounge-like interlude. The respite is suddenly over, as the guys chose to end on the same distressful notes as they began with. Tense is a fitting word for this record as a whole, however, it is much more than that. Underneath the surface, we can discover various feelings expressed and they need multiple listens to be fully grasped. It is undoubtedly the most mature collection of songs the band released yet and that excitement that appears every time they announce a new LP paid off once more.
