Autumn has arrived with PROJECTOR’s new album ‘Contempt’
These twelve songs are Rocky Horror, Autumn-time sadness (in the best way).
Photo: Wall of Sound
Punk band PROJECTOR, who formed in Brighton in 2018, have released their second studio album Contempt via Alcopop!. The album is a complete creative unleashing and catharsis for the band. In each track, they turn anger and self-deprecation into chaotic musical contradictions and unexpected artistic choices.
The Sham! The Sham! The Sham! — the song that opens the album — is messy and loud, almost mimicking the smashing of pots and pans together. This is paired with vocals that shout the song’s lyrics directly at the listener. The formatting of the song’s title, with its three exclamation points, directly reflects the tone of the song and the way that its lyrics are sung. The track, as an opener, prepares listeners for the slew of loud emotions present in the entirety of the album.
The second track, Collision, uses a campy spoken harmony and call-and-response structure to embody an ‘80s Back to the Future / The Clash combo of sound. The mixture and use of elements, like an almost robotic vocal style, bring an unexpected and intriguing energy to every track on the album.
Collision is followed by It Surely Has Been Hell, which slows the energy of the last two tracks into a steadily stewing anger. The track provides a parallel between living with someone who doesn’t treat you well and living in a world that is falling apart.
The album’s fourth track, Migraine, opens with an overpowering siren sound which reoccurs throughout the track and features musical elements that seem to be crashing into each other; the drums are constantly running too quickly and tripping over themselves. All of these elements further the imagery and feeling of a migraine.
Migraine is followed by Phantom Limb, a track about feeling like someone who has separated from you is still there: “I can feel you again / Like a phantom limb.” This melancholic and slightly unsettling image fits in perfectly with the almost camp-horror-punk sounds of the album as a whole.
Track six is O Well, which takes on a much folkier sound. In a higher register than the rest of the tracks, with an atmospheric harmony, O Well is an unexpected yet perfectly fitting turn in the album’s sound and one of its irrefutable high-points.
The pacing of the album picks back up with the following track, S.O.M.O.D.. The title of this track is derived from the thing that Marilyn Manson would do if he got his lower ribs removed. If you don’t know, Google it. The severe fuzziness of the guitar, combined with the lyrics, makes this track an almost comedic turning point in the album.
In Hope Springs Eternal, the band continues the dark and fuzzy guitar sound, this time paired with a chorus which consists of the song’s title being repeated with a dark and spooky harmonic vocal underneath. The track gives a more haunted sound to this portion of the album and prepares listeners for the following track, It’s True.
It’s True combines Edward and Lucy’s vocals to create a conversation between two characters, plus a bridge consisting of a narration. The multiple voices and the fast-moving music make this track the most cinematic out of the album’s tracklist.
The sound darkens once again in Communion. The album’s tenth track plays with haunting religious themes, using the line “I got another confession” to discuss feelings of being trapped and stuck in dark patterns. The album’s alternating between dark and light continues with Happy to Be Here.
In the album’s penultimate track, the band is trying to convince everyone along with themselves that they are “happy to be here”. With lines like “I was promised a new day / It’s the same”, the song portrays the everyday acting of contentment in one’s own life and circumstances.
The album closes with Who Loves You, Baby, which closes the story arc on a surprisingly hopeful note. The song’s title is used in the line “Who loves you, baby? / I do”, giving a rare, explicit sentiment of love and happiness on the album. The bridge of the song repeats “yes, I do”, further embracing this idea of finally reaching happiness, both coinciding with and after the dark events and sounds of all of the previous tracks. The band ends the album with a long fade out, taking up the entire last minute of Who Loves You, Baby, and allowing the album’s final sentimental gesture to fully sink in before the music ends altogether.
Contempt is available to stream on all platforms now via Alcopop! and is set to kick off PROJECTOR’s UK and France tour, which continues through the month of October.