Post-punk vets Protomartyr have announced the release of their seventh studio album. Spanning nine tracks, Hotel Usona is due out September 25th via Domino.
For the follow-up to 2023’s excellent Formal Growth in the Desert, the Michigan quartet linked up with producer Dave Fridmann (Sleater-Kinney, MGMT, and The Flaming Lips) at his Tarbox Road Studios in western New York. Together, Protomartyr and Fridmann set about “reckoning with the horrors of our current moment,” according to a press release, and adding to an already-robust discography that grapples with “what most frightens us, saddens us, disgusts us, embarrasses and enrages us.”
To do just that, frontman Joe Casey has “imagined his country as an aging hotel…each song a room haunted by its own troublesome guest.” That’s alongside the ever-curious production of multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Greg Ahee, who drew influence from “the Middle East and ‘50s exotica, finding common ground between dread and joy, a speciality.” The end result is the band at their most “powerful,” and an album where you can “feel the stakes in every song, feel the band levitating to meet them.”
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But don’t take our word for it — here’s a loving, slightly cryptic letter from aficionado and fellow Detroit rock icon Iggy Pop:
What is a Protomartyr? I don’t really know, but I imagine it may refer to an earthly being who wants a little more than the usual shit out of life. A person or persons who want to be part of something beautiful and interesting, with the understanding that you may pay a price for that, and that others who come after will have an easier time. Kind of like Jesus.
AdvertisementSo then there is Protomartyr the band. Four guys who are very, very skilled musicians and creators who I suspect would be totally fucked without the intervention of their talents, which are considerable. They are, to put it crudely, a kind of rock band out of Detroit. That’s a subject I know something about. And they’ve made a new album. It is highly themed and symphonic in its reach. I could call it a kind of drive-through Sgt. Peppers, but that would miss the mark. This record is Wagnerian, it reminds me very much of the Opera Tristan and Isolde (by Richard Wagner). Musically, it sounds modal, and kind of chromatic, like I imagine Celtic war horns might sound in some forgotten battle. The singer, Joe Casey, is blessed with a beautiful voice that you want to listen to, but he stays perverse enough to keep things interesting when he wants to get petulant or a little bitchy.
One of my favorite moments on the record is when he simply announces, all alone, “We got a bad review.” Which presides a furious outpouring from the entire group. Wow! I wish I thought of that! And in today’s world, how relatable! Who hasn’t gotten a bad review? Plumbers, shoe salesmen, etc etc etc. right up to Influencers. All is reviewed… I’m trying hard not to let this attempt at biography turn into a review, but hey, I’ve been listening to these guys for quite a while now and I get the feeling that they are a slow growth item, something that is gaining followers, listeners, and respect little by little, over the long haul. There’s a lot of content here. The four of them can shift rhythms and harmonics very, very smoothly in a way that seems effortless. It’s the mark of fine arts in a popular group.
Our first taste of Hotel Usona comes with lead single “Sounds We Cannot Hear.” Here, Protomartyr dissect “the slow paralysis of modern life,” with Casey crooning, “The scroll deforms the day / Poet screamed, ‘Goodbye everybody!’ / Leaping from the liner Orizaba / As it traversed the Caribbean Sea / A new vulgar company is targeting me.” Check out the accompanying music video (starring beloved internet comedian Nate Varrone) followed by the album artwork and tracklist.
As previously reported, Protomartyr will be on tour in the US in October and November, followed by a UK and Europe jaunt slated for February 2027. Grab your Protomartyr here.
Hotel Usona Artwork:
Hotel Usona Tracklist:
01. The Old Hotel
02. Sounds We Cannot Hear
03. Converts
04. Exalted Eagles
05. The Knife Dream
06. Feed the Sewer
07. Lavender – Gospel
08. Third Country
09. Checking Out
Protomartyr 2026 and 2027 Tour Dates:
10/19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
10/20 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah *
10/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent *
10/23 – San Jose, CA @ the Ritz *
10/24 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall *
10/27 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
10/28 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl *
10/29 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin *
10/31 – Austin, TX @ Far Out Lounge ^
11/07 – Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall #
11/08 – Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques #
11/10 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom #
11/ 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
11/12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall #
11/13 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat #
11/14 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
11/15 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy #
11/17 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East #
11/18 – St. Louis, MO @ Duck Room #
11/19 – Chicago @ Metro #
12/04 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic
02/11 – Leeds, UK @ Irish Center
02/12 – Glasgow, UK @ The Garage
02/13 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
02/15 – Bristol, UK @ The Lantern
02/16 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
02/18 – Lille, FR @ L’Aeronef
02/19 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
02/20 – Brussels, BE @ Le Botanique
02/22 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
02/23 – Hamburg, DE @ Bahnhof Pauli
02/24 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
02/26 – Berlin, DE @ Bi Nuu Club
02/27 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
02/28 – Prague, CZ @ Meet Factory
* = w/ Accessory
^ = w/ the Jesus and Mary Chain
# = w/ J.R.C.G.
