Protomartyr present new single “Feed the Sewer”

Protomartyr present “Feed the Sewer,” the second single from their forthcoming album, Hotel Usona, out September 25th via Domino. On Hotel Usona, Casey has imagined his country as an aging hotel, each song a room haunted by its own troublesome guest. Following the "scathing" (SPIN) lead single “Sounds We Cannot Hear,” which discusses the slow paralysis of modern life, today’s “Feed the Sewer” tackles AI; “All is flowing towards the center // The Eyeless Cog consumes on a bed of low frequency and broods // And what does it give? // Information disease? // Future dreams?,” vocalist Joe Casey sings.

Of “Feed the Sewer,” Casey comments, “The title comes from a line of dialogue in a Peter Greenaway movie. The sentiment of the song is that artificial intelligence is against humanity. The belief is that people are often willing to destroy the world in exchange for convenience. The lyrics are the usual mish-mash of political fears, personal grievances, literary references, and poop jokes. The music is very loud, like a data center."

The video for “Feed the Sewer” stars Nate Varrone – as seen in the “Sounds We Cannot Hear” video previously. The video director for “Feed the Sewer”, Andrew Theodore Balasia, says, "Loneliness in the age of surveillance is the theme we explored for this video. The motel becomes a physical microcosm of data collection, each room a profile - each guest willingly paying to stay in a room that is being monitored by strangers. The banality of what’s being observed becomes its own source of unease, stripping away spectacle until all that remains is the dull, unsettling desire to connect with anything."

Ahead of the album’s release, Protomartyr have announced special events in London, Paris and Berlin– the London event is a takeover of grindhouse cinema The Nickel – Protomartyr have curated a double bill of Detroit-set action movies: Brick Mansions & Action Jackson and will also do a live Q&A on the night.

Hotel Usona release events:

Tuesday 22nd September - Lithium - Paris, FR [Album Playback Q&A] RSVP

Thursday 24th September - The Nickel - London, UK [Cinema Takeover Q&A] Tickets

Friday 25th September - Rough Trade - Berlin, DE [Album Playback, Q&A, DJ Set Signing] Tickets

Recorded with legendary producer Dave Fridmann (Sleater-Kinney, MGMT, The Flaming Lips) at his own Tarbox Road Studios in western New York, Hotel Usona is an effort that finds the Detroit post-punk outfit reckoning with the horrors of our current moment. It is not easy listening. It’s essential.

Over the last two decades, Protomartyr— Casey, drummer Alex Leonard, bassist Scott Davidson, and multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Greg Ahee—have built one of the most rewarding and often exhilarating bodies of work in recent memory by veering in and out of darkness, grappling with what most frightens us, saddens us, disgusts us, embarrasses and enrages us, and with a gallows humor for the ages, gives a sense of the comedy inherent in so much that we encounter. Essentially, the stuff that makes us human.

Musically, Ahee has built worlds within a world, drawing new influence from the Middle East and ‘50s exotica, finding common ground between dread and joy, a speciality. All of it—Leonard’s drumming in particular—is rendered more tangible and terrifying by Fridmann, whose son, Jon, contributes horns. You can feel the stakes in every song, feel the band levitating to meet them. They’ve never sounded more powerful. Take it from someone who knows: Iggy Pop.

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.

— Iggy Pop

In autumn, Protomartyr will embark on a world tour, making stops in major cities throughout the United States, EU/UK, and Canada. Tickets are now available here. Protomartyr will also support The Jesus and Mary Chain in Austin. A full list of tour dates is below.

Watch the video for “Sounds We Cannot Hear”.

Hotel Usona is available to pre-order on DomMart-exclusive sky-blue vinyl, indies-exclusive gold vinyl, standard vinyl, CD and digitally. Pre-order: DomMart Digital

Protomartyr Tour Dates:

• Thursday 11th February – Irish Center – Leeds, UK
• Friday 12th February – The Garage – Glasgow, UK
• Saturday 13th February – Band on the Wall – Manchester, UK
• Monday 15th February – The Lantern – Bristol, UK
• Tuesday 16th February – Electric Brixton – London, UK
• Thursday 18th February – L'Aeronef – Lille, FR
• Friday 19th February- Le Trabendo – Paris, FR
• Saturday 20th February – Le Botanique – Brussels, BE
• Monday 22nd February – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
• Tuesday 23rd February – Bahnhof Pauli – Hamburg, DE
• Wednesday 24th February – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DK
• Friday 26th February – Bi Nuu Club – Berlin, DE
• Saturday 27th February – Connewitz – Leipzig, DE
• Sunday 28th February – Meet Factory – Prague, CZ

* w/ Accessory

w/ the Jesus and Mary Chain

# w/ J.R.C.G