I first got into Protomartyr just last year when they released their album, Relatives in Descent. The song “Windsor Hum” particularly caught my attention as I found the subject -- a low, continuous hum that can only be heard by certain people in Windsor, Ontario and Detroit -- to be slightly disturbing. The thought that only some people can hear the noise, and that one day you could wake up and hear it for the rest of your life, freaked me right out.
If unheard sounds frighten you too, then have no fear for Protomartyr’s latest tack, “Wheel of Fortune," off of their new EP Consolation. The song opens with sustained, supremely high pitched feedback that will have you reaching to rip off your headphones. Stick with it though, the biting sound of feedback is usually a good indication that you are about to hear a banger, and Protomartyr do not disappoint.
“Wheel of Fortune” continues to reference the feedback noise as the guitars frantically kick in and vocalist Joe Casey is joined by Kelley Deal in declaring, “I decide who lives and who dies.” The song is wonderfully intense and unconventional. Between the haunting choral vocals, the building guitar tension and the downright frightening decree of “hands around their own throats,” “Wheel of Fortune” will undoubtedly see Protomartyr maintain their status as an underground post-punk phenomenon.
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