Prong Reach Breaking Point

Veteran New York metallers, Prong, are back with a new song. If you’re a fan of the band already, you’ll know what to expect; heavy riffs, angry and rasping vocals from Tommy Victor, and an omnidirectional anguish that rails against the world. It’s a winning recipe that they’ve been brewing since the ‘90s and it still works, especially live. They’re heading out on a European tour with Life of Agony but no sign of any UK or Ireland dates yet. We’ll keep you posted if that changes.

More info and press blurb below

Like few other contemporary metal bands, Prong are synonymous with a down-to-earth attitude, stamina and a close bond with their fans. It's been a long wait since the release of 2019’s 'Age Of Defiance’ EP, but now, that wait is over. Today, the band has premiered an unrelentingly heavy brand new song, entitled "Breaking Point”, marking their anticipated return with a vengeance.

Prong originator Tommy Victor on the new single:

"The origins of the song happened during the waning part of the pandemic. I have to admit that I came up with the main riff while we were out on the Black Label Society tour. I guess that would make sense to some.

There was so much insecurity going on. What we were told kept changing. The crowds on that tour were so intense. It seemed like everyone was just sweating out all this frustration. Everyone was just fed up. I think that sentiment has remained and even grown with a lot of people. It’s a 'general frustration in the world' type song."

He adds about the track's sound:

"I’ve been getting back into these heavy, solid, mean riffs. I think moving back to New York has helped with these. I’m really happy where I’m at all around. I think it’s coming across in the new songs and showing a rejuvenated attitude."

PRONG on tour with LIFE OF AGONY 2023

13.01. DE-Bochum – Matrix

15.01. DK-Aarhus – Voxhall

17.01. DE-Hamburg - Grünspan

18.01. DE-Berlin – Astra

19.01. PL-Warszawa – Proxima

21.01. CZ-Prague - Palac Akropolis

22.01. AT-Vienna – Arena

23.01. DE-Munich – Backstage

25.01. CH-Zürich - Dynamo

26.01. CH-Bulle – Ebullition

28.01. BE-Antwerp – Trix

29.01. FR-Vaureal - Le Forum

31.01. FR- Wasquehal - The Black Lab

01.02. NL-Amsterdam - Melkweg

Belle and Sebastian Go Pop On New Tune

Pic by Anna Crolla

On first listen, this sounds like a pisstake or a new 2manydjs mashup but it’s for real and it’s the new single from arch pop hipsters favourites, Belle and Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch’s voice is unmistakable even if the melody and music are unexpectedly mainstream.

This could easily have been written for Taylor Swift or Little Mix but Murdoch lifts it from the generic mire. The song was written for the band by their producer and collaborator Pete Ferguson and is far removed from their comfort zone. There’s a wee elitist, Emperor's New Clothes twinge while listening; if George Ezra released this, it would be easily ignorable, but because it’s Belle & Sebastian, it possesses a unique edge. An edge which could make it a crossover hit. Check it out and judge for yourself.

More info & press blurb below

Belle and Sebastian just announced a surprise new album called Late Developers that will be released this Friday, Jan 13th, along with the video for first single ‘I Don’t Know What You See In Me’. The single is an 80’s-nodding banger and one of their poppiest offerings to date that is a collaboration with young Glasgow pop composer and producer Pete Ferguson.

Frontman Stuart Murdoch says on the track: "I was bicycling across Scotland last summer, listening to a mix of this song. It was written and produced for us by our friend Pete ‘Wuh Oh’ Ferguson.  As I listened to it, I felt lucky to be the first person to get to sing this song. I let my voice swoop and soar in ways that it maybe hasn’t before. And as I continued through fields of gold and green, I allowed myself to forget it was Belle and Sebastian, and pretend it was the latest hit on some random radio station. All music is escape, and perhaps we managed to escape a little further than usual with this unexpected tune. Thanks Pete!”

Arriving almost back-to-back to 2022’s Top Ten album A Bit of Previous, Late Developers is decidedly not a collection of outtakes or B-sides, but a completely new standalone album that comes on like its predecessor’s sun-kissed cousin. It is a full-hearted embrace of the band's brightest tendencies that is not only fresh and immediate but possessing of that Belle and Sebastian je ne sais quoi of a group that will always be there for you with the perfect word or melody for the moment, while admitting tunefully that “Every girl and boy / each one is a misery” (“When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall”).

TRACKLIST

1. Juliet Naked

2. Give A Little Time

3. When We Were Very Young

4. Will I Tell You A Secret

5. So In The Moment

6. The Evening Star

7. When You’re Not With Me

8. I Don’t Know What You See In Me

9. Do You Follow

10. When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall

11. Late Developers