Iggy Pop Heralds New Protomartyr Album, Says They’re “Kind of Like Jesus”

Protomartyr asked fellow Detroit rocker Iggy Pop to officially announce their new album Hotel Usona (out September 25 on Domino), and he returned with a laudatory and predictably wild note about the band’s bonafides. “What is a Protomartyr? I don't really know, but I imagine it may refer to an earthly being who wants a little more than the usual shit out of life,” writes Pop. “A person or persons who want to be part of something beautiful and interesting, with the understanding that you may pay a price for that, and that others who come after will have an easier time. Kind of like Jesus.” Pop goes on to compare their new album as “Wagnerian,” reminding him of the opera Tristan and Isolde. You can read the full note at the bottom of the post.

The announcement arrives with a hibachi-themed video for Hotel Usona’s lead single “Sounds We Cannot Hear.” You can also check that out below. Protomartyr—singer Joe Casey, drummer Alex Leonard, bassist Scott Davidson, and multi-instrumentalist Greg Ahee—recorded the album with producer Dave Fridmann. The band will support the release this fall with a tour of North America and Europe.

Revisit our review of Protomartyr’s last album, Formal Growth in the Desert.

Hotel Usona01 The Old Hotel02 Sounds We Cannot Hear03 Converts04 Exalted Eagles05 The Knife Dream06 Feed the Sewer07 Lavender – Gospel08 Third Country09 Checking Out

What is a Protomartyr? I don't really know, but I imagine it may refer to an earthly being who wants a little more than the usual shit out of life. A person or persons who want to be part of something beautiful and interesting, with the understanding that you may pay a price for that, and that others who come after will have an easier time. Kind of like Jesus.

So then there is Protomartyr the band. Four guys who are very, very skilled musicians and creators who I suspect would be totally fucked without the intervention of their talents, which are considerable. They are, to put it crudely, a kind of rock band out of Detroit. That's a subject I know something about. And they've made a new album. It is highly themed and symphonic in its reach. I could call it a kind of drive-through Sgt. Peppers, but that would miss the mark. This record is Wagnerian, it reminds me very much of the Opera Tristan and Isolde (by Richard Wagner). Musically, it sounds modal, and kind of chromatic, like I imagine Celtic war horns might sound in some forgotten battle. The singer, Joe Casey, is blessed with a beautiful voice that you want to listen to, but he stays perverse enough to keep things interesting when he wants to get petulant or a little bitchy.

One of my favorite moments on the record is when he simply announces, all alone, “We got a bad review." Which presides a furious outpouring from the entire group. Wow! I wish I thought of that! And in today's world, how relatable! Who hasn't gotten a bad review? Plumbers, shoe salesmen, etc etc etc. right up to Influencers. All is reviewed… I'm trying hard not to let this attempt at biography turn into a review, but hey, I've been listening to these guys for quite a while now and I get the feeling that they are a slow growth item, something that is gaining followers, listeners, and respect little by little, over the long haul. There's a lot of content here. The four of them can shift rhythms and harmonics very, very smoothly in a way that seems effortless. It's the mark of fine arts in a popular group.