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Protomartyr's Hotel Usona: A Dystopian Resort of American Nightmares
6 Oct
Summary
- The album parodies ugly realities at a cursed hotel called Hotel Usona.
- Protomartyr critiques American hypocrisy, greed, and selfishness.
- The band's sound evolves with horns and loungey percussion.
Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr has released their seventh album, Hotel Usona, a concept album that grimly satirizes harsh American realities. The album uses the metaphor of a cursed hotel, complete with a parody website detailing its dystopian amenities, to explore themes of self-regard, artificial intelligence, and societal apathy.
Lead vocalist Joe Casey channels his frustration with political cowardice and immigration policies into the album's lyrical content. Songs like "Feed the Sewer" and "Third Country" critique societal greed, fearmongering, and desensitization to violence. These issues are presented as unwelcome guests within the hotel's perverse environment.
Compared to their earlier work, Hotel Usona features a slightly softened sound. The band incorporates forlorn horns and loungey percussion, creating a faux lack of urgency. This evolution, noticeable since their 2023 album Formal Growth in the Desert, allows Casey's typically tense delivery to sound more assured and relaxed, even while addressing bleak subjects.
