{"product_id":"protomartyr-ultimate-success-today","title":"Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today","description":"\u003ch6 class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProtomartyr have always sounded suspicious of the future. On \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUltimate Success Today\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the future seems to have finally arrived, and it is every bit as bleak, absurd, and strangely beautiful as they feared.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2020 on Domino\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUltimate Success Today\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the Detroit band’s fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRelatives in Descent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Written before the upheavals that defined 2020, its visions of institutional decay, environmental collapse, illness, and social fragmentation proved eerily well timed. Yet Protomartyr avoid straightforward protest music. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJoe Casey’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e writing remains oblique, literary, funny, and deeply human, finding small moments of dignity amid larger systems falling apart.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMusically, the band expands well beyond the conventional boundaries of post-punk. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGreg Ahee’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e guitar moves between wiry abrasion and enormous atmospheric passages while \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eScott Davidson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlex Leonard\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e maintain the tense rhythmic foundation underneath. Saxophone, clarinet, cello, and additional vocals widen the palette further, giving the album a richer and occasionally more unsettling character than its predecessors.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe opening \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Day Without End”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e slowly gathers pressure before “Processed By The Boys” turns bureaucratic dread into one of the band’s most immediate songs. “Michigan Hammers” hits with considerably more force, while “The Aphorist” and “Tranquilizer” demonstrate how effectively Protomartyr can make anxiety feel both cerebral and physical. The album eventually reaches \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Worm in Heaven,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e a remarkable closing meditation on mortality and disappearance that replaces easy catharsis with something far more haunting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat combination of intellect and physicality is central to Protomartyr. Casey may deliver his observations with the weary cadence of someone documenting civilization from a barstool, but the band behind him can erupt without warning, transforming resignation into noise, tension, and momentum.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUltimate Success Today\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a record about endings made by a band operating at full strength: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eacerbic, atmospheric, confrontational, and unexpectedly moving, with some of Protomartyr’s darkest observations surrounded by their most expansive music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Protomartyr","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48266487529526,"sku":"WIGLP464","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/2592\/7222\/files\/protomartyr-ultimate-success.jpg?v=1792717438","url":"https:\/\/greycatrecords.com\/products\/protomartyr-ultimate-success-today","provider":"Greycat Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}