Protomartyr's 'Ultimate Success Today' is an Explosion of Innovation

Alright, it took me way too long to finally get around to listening to a Protomartyr album in its entirety, but they officially have my full attention. Building atop their Post-Punk foundation with dark, occasionally ambient and swirling textures complete with Jazz annunciations and winding, Swans-esque segments, Ultimate Success Today is an undeniably interesting listen. Say what you will about this album, though most people have nothing but positive things to say, nobody could ever discount how shockingly eclectic and vibrant it is in terms of influence and execution. Protomartyr are a band very clearly deserving of their place in the critical limelight right now, as between them and Idles they’re responsible for a decade of really innovative Post-Punk that’s driving the genre forward. This is the kind of album that doesn’t hesitate to show you exactly why people are talking about it. It’s an unfaltering, unwaveringly intense expression of tearing down the societally constructed walls that keep people down in our world. It’s a record that didn’t come to take names, and didn’t come to comfort people and remind them that maybe things will be okay. No, this album came to fight for everything it believes in in the most snarling way it possibly can.

Right out the gate, Processed by the Boys hooked me with it’s unbelievably infectious guitars and shimmering percussion. It’s arguably my favorite song on the record, and it showcases just about everything great about this album in one 5 minute package. That main guitar riff is one that will stick with me for a long time, and it serves as a perfect canvas for the spiral of other ideas that are plastered on top of it. It’s got some awesome melodies layered within it’s repetitive and aggressive nature, some that will take you off guard and squeeze their way into your brain for days after you’ve turned the song off. The jazz instrumentation that pops in and out later on into the song adds to its vibrancy and gives it a bit of warmth, which is starkly contrasted by Joe Casey’s vocals and lyrics. With lines like “Fill out the form, download the app, submit your face into the scanner”, Casey snarls and shouts his way into your mind in a way that not only raises the sonic energy of the record but also makes you think. Altogether, this song showcases all the best reasons as to why this band has got a winning recipe on their hands with this record.

As wild and intense as this record is, it’s not one that lends its listeners any form of instant gratification. It makes that that’s the case, considering I’d be willing to bet that very phrase is just about the devil to every member of this band. There are so many guitar licks that make so much more sense the second or third time you hear them, countless lyrics that don’t click until you’ve really processed them, and rewarding passages that require some growth. While this is very far from Swans’ To Be Kind, there are many songs and passages that don’t make their full intentions and greatest attributes obvious upon first glance. June 21 is an example of a song that’s very repetitive, dark and winding in a way that’s extremely unforgiving. It’s one that I’ve come to love now, but it didn’t really click with me until one of my most recent listens of the records. It’s got plenty to love hidden within the fantastic bassline and the very occasional hook that takes its sweet time to occur. The fiery, sadistic and growling guitars make for a very enjoyable listen, but it definitely takes a little while before the song doesn’t just come across as repetitive. That’s part of what makes this record great, though. There is so much repetition plastered throughout the songwriting, which made it a grating experience my first time through. However, there is also so much beauty and effectiveness in that repetition. Hearing these same passages play over and over until they stick makes for such a fitting way to deliver the band’s anti-globalist and anti-capitalist message. It also makes the occasionally instantly satisfying moment feel that much greater.

Though I generally love this album, it’s not without a couple of gripes I’ve got that I think hold it back from being the kind of record I would want to listen to all the time. I’ve come around to realize that one of the best parts of the album actually lies within how grating it can be at times, but that can also be a double edged sword. As you trudge through the album’s 40 minute runtime, there are a couple of times where you’ll find yourself feeling like it’s gone on for way longer than it has. The album’s repetitious nature is extremely flattering in the context of each individual song, but when the entire record is built on that foundation it can start to get just a little bit annoying. It’s not that bad when you listen all at once, but in my situation I found myself listening back to back 3 times in a row and by then I had a splitting headache. Maybe that’s my fault for listening so much, but when you’ve got a record that needs to grow on you, yet also doesn’t reward frequent repeat listens, it gets a little bit tricky. I feel like that high difficulty curve in regards to actually getting into the album is once again partly what makes it beautiful and partly what makes it a little bit frustrating on occasion. Songs like I Am You Now exemplify my issues with the album perfectly I think. It’s a really great song on it’s own, but when I listened to the record for the second time in a row it stuck out as painfully noisy and wasn’t very enjoyable at all. Again, I can imagine that this is a complete nonissue for many of the album’s biggest fans, but for me I found that the album probably could have benefitted from just a little bit of reprieve. Honestly, I bet if the band threw even 3 minutes of soft interludes as palette cleansers in between tracks, they could’ve not only prevented this problem but also possibly even amplified the theatrics of the record.

At the end of the day this is one of the most impressive Post-Punk records I’ve heard throughout the last 10 years worth of Post-Punk. Granted, it’s a genre that I really should do much more underground digging in, but for what my slightly inexperienced opinion is worth this is very much worth your time. This is an intense, winding and progressive record that does nearly everything right in terms of delivering an immersive and highly memorable release that will keep me coming back for quite a while. The entire run of songs from The Aphorist to Modern Business Hymns is one of the most fantastic and explosive 5 song runs I’ve heard from any record this year, and that run alone is easily worth anybody’s attention. Plenty of other surrounding tracks are really great as well, so I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you haven’t checked this one out yet, what are you waiting for? Protomartyr’s latest record Ultimate Success Today is a sprawling, snarling Post-Punk smash hit that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go from start to finish. It’s a record that requires some time to grow on you, but when you get into this I’m sure you’ll find it’s one of the most rewarding and intricate records of the year. - 8.9/10 (Best Songs - Processed by the Boys, The Aphorist, Tranquilizer)