Nick Prol & The Proletarians – An Erstwisle Alphabestiary: Book Two – If XTC had been a breezy band from North America rather than the very English treasure they always were. Nick Prol & The Proletarians are a positively 80s flavoured American avant-progressive pop rock project from Tucson, Arizona. Led by musician and artist Nick Prol, the group is essentially a modern “collaborative effort”, a studio based art project rather than a traditional touring band.
Leader Nick Prol (vocals, guitar, composition) is supported by a core rhythmic section consisting of bassist/multi-instrumentalist Ben Spees and drummer Connor Reilly, both members of the rather fine band known as The Mercury Tree. Saxophonist Dave Newhouse (of The Muffins) is also a primary collaborator as well as being a champion of Nick Prol’s work. This is alive with left field details, strange bits that hint at some of the stranger places The Police or maybe The Cars went when they were at their most adventurous, when the Police Cars and their pop was touching on experimental prog rock in a rather refreshing way.
This latest Nick Prol album is another clean cut beautiful played blend of psychedelic pop, art rock, and dare we say avant-prog? Yes there are hints of Zappa, bits of Rush, it is mostly just really good really full-bodied songs that have so much going on in them – so much going on but nothing that distracts from the actual songs, this is very much about songs.
The debut Nick Prol & the Proletarians album featured a massive roster of experimental music luminaries, including R. Stevie Moore, Rob Crow (of Pinback and such), Thymme Jones (of the mighty Cheer-Accident), Bob Drake and Moe! Staiano (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum). The second album was a concept album, An Erstwisle Alphabestiary: Book One (2020): A concept album set in the fictional universe of “Erstwisle,” following an alphabetical guide to imaginary beasts (tracks A–L). An album that focused more on the core trio (Prol, Spees, Reilly) with narration from Die Laughing‘s Kavus Torabi and the aforenebtioned Thymme Jones. The third album is Book Two and the second part of that concept, the M-Z of it all as it were –
– “Your understanding of the curious wildlife of Erstwisle has deepened greatly since reading Book One. Your education, however, is only half-complete. Since Nick Prol & the Proletarians’ last release, exactly five long years have passed in your world. Now they have returned, arms outstretched, to welcome you back to theirs…”
It takes someone or something special to write so many melodically catchy earworms as this, songs that at the same time as being catchy pop songs are cleverly compelling pieces full of colourful adventure and properly progressive ambition, full of impressively twisty turns. Songs full of trips down mysterious side streets, around different corners, songs that go over there just to see if things look different, to see who might be underneath that tree. Songs that don’t really sound like anyone else’s songs – different creatures, imaginary ones, glorious beasts, wonderful colours, proper…. (sw)
THE ORGAN 