Protomartyr Expands Sound with Woodwinds

Detroit's post-punk band Protomartyr has unveiled their fifth album, "Ultimate Success Today," presenting their most expansive musical vision to date. Recorded in a former church in upstate New York, the album co-produced by the band and David Tolomei, integrates a woodwind section, featuring jazz musicians Jemeel Moondoc and Izaak Mills, alongside cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm.

This ambitious shift diversifies Protomartyr's familiar post-punk sound with throbbing basslines and reverb-drenched guitars. Moondoc's saxophone and Mills's bass clarinet and flute weave through tracks like "Tranquilizer" and "The Aphorist," while Lonberg-Holm's cello adds texture. Frontman Joe Casey's dense lyrics, rich with historical and mythological allusions, explore contemporary crises like pandemics and police brutality, offering a bleak yet compelling perspective on societal decay.

The album closes with "Worm in Heaven," a somber piece where Mills's extended saxophone note underscores Casey's introspective lyrics on mortality and regret. This track exemplifies the album's deeper dive into profound hopelessness, even as Protomartyr's sound grows richer and more rewarding, solidifying their reputation for confronting difficult truths with artistic depth.