Ultimate Success Today

It is reassuring then to know that through it all Protomartyr lurch relentlessly forwards. Ultimate Success Today has the power of an exorcism, and even if it is not a cure for the sickness, it is somewhere to hide in these dark times.

Rather than the rip-roaring, breakneck speed of the band’s earlier work, here songs are allowed to breathe and build more, taking surprising twists and turns is a highly satisfying way.

On Ultimate Success Today, Protomartyr have made essential jams for a genre that’s been passed around dozens of times over. It’s nice to know that, five albums deep, the band haven’t lost any ferocity, and that they continue to be a mouthpiece for so many feelings we all share.

Though they’ve yet to release a subpar record, the sarcastically titled Ultimate Success Today laser-focuses both their song writing and sound into what may be their defining statement to date, especially apposite for these grim times.

There is considerable depth, particularly lyrical, offering the listener a significant amount of brilliant content to dissect. It may not be the album some fans wanted, still, it is an important step forward in the band’s sonic journey and overall development.

Casey, having already plumbed the depths of sorrow, still has room to go deeper as Protomartyr’s sound continues to become much richer and more rewarding.

Apocalyptic music for apocalyptic times.

Ultimate Success Today sounds timely in 2020, but this music would be a smart, compelling accompaniment for staring into the abyss as it begins to look back, no matter what the year.

The album is almost too neat, given Protomartyr’s newfound use of saxophone, self-conscious touches like the chirping crickets at the beginning and end of a few tracks, and the seamless sequencing of songs. But the restless punk spirit and flippant, downtrodden ethos that prevail over the project render Protomartyr’s painstaking intellectualizations as fuel for a visceral winding up and release of discontent.

This is 2020 in pained, reverb dripping sound waves. This is the isolation. This is the pandemic. This is everything. The doom may have arrived, but at least Protomartyr are back in our lives.

It’s music for uncertain times, something Protomartyr seem to be almost eerily skilled at producing.

The concept behind the music can only be as moving as the music itself, and, thankfully, Protomartyr delivers. The band’s knack for meaty percussion and jagged guitars continues.

Ultimate Success Today is convulsed by End Times thoughts of collapse and an American dream eating itself. [Aug 2020, p.111]

On paper, the inclusion of saxophones, bass clarinet, flute and cello should make Ultimate Success Today expansive. In practice, the auxiliary musicians often add the sonic equivalent of extra seasoning to an already good dish; it's often unclear whether Protomartyr needs the addition.

The excellent military beat of "The Aphorist" and almost genteel "Worm In Heaven" are fine point of entry, even if the cacophonous likes of "Michigan Hammers," "Modern Business Hymns" and "I Am You Now" are more typical representations of the band's disorienting sound. [Aug 2020, p.36]

Their fifth album is pure misanthropic splendor. [Jul 2020, p.87]