75%

Kevin Michael McMahon, Prick’s leader, started his music career with Trent Reznor in a band called Lucky Pierre. After the years, when the second one has achieved a large success and even launched his own label, Kevin was asked by his friend from the past to record an album. In effect, Prick was the most important artist of Nothing Records, right after Marilyn Manson, and Reznor even produced four tracks from his CD. Unfortunately, that didn’t help him to gain attention. Despite to the quite big rotation of the single "Animal" in radio and TV stations, the album was almost unnoticed. But hey, does a band with SUCH name can expect a bigger attention from medias? "Animal" is definitively the best track on the album anyway. It begins with a calm guitar motive, next interesting effects and percussion loop appear in the background. In the chorus, the song shows it’s rock claws. Very catchy thing with a pretty good video, connected directly with the lyrics about clothing industry, which kills thousands of animals each year. But the first single is quite different than the rest of the album – "Communiqué", the second one, is much more representative. McMahon sings like a woman (and I have to admit, that he doesn’t have large vocal abilities, but he knows how to use the ones he has), sometimes very sweet, suddenly changes to deafening screams, accompanied by aggressive riffs and dynamic percussion. Besides, it’s still very catchy. The whole album has an intriguing, schizophrenic atmosphere – built mainly by McMahon’s vocals. Songs like "Riverhead" or "Other People" really stay in the head for a longer time. The most original are quasi-ballads like ultracatchy "I Apologise" (with sick keyboards and strange samples) or the closing song "Makebelieve" with moving, soap opera-like melody, contrasted with shouted chorus. Then again "There Are No Fair Fights" seems to be a sweet, quiet ballad. Just in the end it shows it’s true, sick nature. Any associations who, already mentioned in this review, is able to use silence so aptly in his music? Mhm, that’s right. Prick’s debut album isn’t an easy listening, but it’s surely original and unconventional – that means worth knowing and commendable.


Tracklist:
1. Communique
2. River Head
3. Tough
4. Other People
5. No Fair Fights
6. Animal
7. I Got It Bad
8. I Apologise
9. Crack
10. Makebelieve

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