“There's nothing you can do” may be a bleak chorus for Detroit band Protomartyr's blustery lead single, “Scum, Rise!” off their upcoming Under Color of Official Right record, but the song is more rallying cry than dejected resignation. Or maybe it's a little bit of both. As for the bigger picture, those trying to fit these guys neatly into a genre category are advised to redirect their efforts. For the sake of digestibility, many listeners and critics will count Protomartyr as punk or post-punk with arbitrary 50-50 probability (this one included), but perhaps, as is so often the case with confoundingly good rock music, what they really are can't be put into words—that is, without rattling off a list of greats who paved the way. For now, we'll check off the following boxes: raw, professional, and real. So real.
The full album gets let out of its cage on April 8 via Hardly Art Records.
