Relatives in Descent

The band hired Sonny DiPerri to co-produce this album (known for his work with Animal Collective). In an interview, lead singer Joe Casey said that "we knew we wanted to go someplace different to record than the previous two records, so we wouldn't get in a rut [...] what was so great about Sonny was that he was very locked in to what we wanted."{{cite web|url=http://read.tidal.com/article/protomartyrs-joe-casey-on-why-hes-obsessed-with-decay|title=Protomartyr's Joe Casey on Why He's Obsessed with Decay|website=read.tidal.com}} He said that the band "wanted to record somewhere warm and we went to California. Usually, we are recording in Michigan and it is characteristically cold." According to Casey, the change in recording location also helped them write more complicated songs than before.

Guitarist Greg Ahee "was kind of enthralled with a certain kind of violin sound we heard [...] on a Raincoats record called Odyshape and then he wanted violin on the record. At first we heard it, and we all just thought, 'Ah shit, I don't know if that's going to work or not.'" He was also influenced by Mica Levi's score to Under the Skin.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestranger.com/music/2017/10/11/25464458/scraping-by-with-protomartyr|title=Scraping By with Protomartyr|first=Mark|last=Lore|website=The Stranger}} Asked on the source of the album's direction, Casey said: "For this record, we had just come off the road after doing a lot of touring. There were a lot of aches and pains so there was a lot of references to guts and generally feeling unwell. After the tour, my house also flooded. Before then, it had this smell of smoke and dust. Now I've got this mildew smell on top of that and the combination of these sensations and smell kind of infected the record."

According to John Pareles:

[O]n its fourth album, the band is moving toward an idiom that's more flexible and contrasty yet just as gripping: Protomartyr's own post-post-punk. Its expanded vocabulary includes relentless Minimalist repetition, melodic (though still jagged) guitar leads, precise gradations of clarity and distortion, violin parts that subtly link tracks together and song structures that keep taking left turns.

Greg Kot describes the instrumentation as thus:

Greg Ahee's guitar ambushes the arrangements. It lunges out of the silence in "A Private Understanding" and "Windsor Hum." Bassist Scott Davidson knows when to push the melody and when to anchor the chaos with a steady pulse. Drummer Alex Leonard complements Casey's delivery rather than overwhelming it, his touch unerring yet spacious.

According to NPR, the album is "a collection of lyrically dense, deeply philosophical [...] songs that grapple with some of life's thorniest questions: What does it mean to be human? What is truth? What is the nature of good and evil?".{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2017/09/29/553963443/what-s-the-meaning-of-life-ask-protomartyr|title=What's The Meaning Of Life? Ask Protomartyr|website=NPR.org}} Casey refuses to classify the album as "an anti-Trump album [...] I don't think this album is any more political than our previous records, but people are picking up on it more because it's a constant bombardment"{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1964335/a-new-dark-age-protomartyr-on-relatives-in-descent/franchises/interview/|title=Protomartyr On New Album 'Relatives In Descent'|date=26 September 2017|publisher=}} despite being "half informed by America, post-election".{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2017/10/27/interview_protomartyrs_sexy_sad_pos.php|title=An Interview With Protomartyr Frontman Joe Casey About 'Male Plague' & Nuclear Annihilation|first=Christopher|last=Robbins|website=Gothamist|access-date=2018-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828184140/http://gothamist.com/2017/10/27/interview_protomartyrs_sexy_sad_pos.php|archive-date=2018-08-28|url-status=dead}} "A Private Understanding", which is "almost a worldwide proclamation about the dire state of things (with apocalyptic trumpets even)", references Elvis Presley's vision of Jesus in a desert and the Flint water crisis. "Here is The Thing" is a "repeat of the same feeling but with a more personal, local take", the titular "Thing" being "unfettered capitalism at the expense of humanity." The song "My Children" deals with "legacy and what we leave behind: offspring, stone monuments, genetics [...]" and includes a reference to David Bowie. "Windsor Hum" references a real phenomenon in its title, "a very low frequency hum [...] described as a massive refrigerator running. It's constant, so if you do hear it, you can't get it out of your head and it can drive you crazy" that one can hear emanating from Windsor "across the river". "Caitriona" references the main character of Cré na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain and describes "an afterlife of comically complaining in your coffin about everything, including your stupid son, for all eternity." "The Chuckler" "is about trying to get through the day-to-day grind of living with all its loneliness and frustrations while the shadow of global meltdown darkens your door. I would describe the chuckle of the main character as being very, very hollow." The imaginary titular city in "Don't Go To Anacita" is a pseudo-homophonic pun for "any city"{{cite web|url=https://genius.com/12761721/Protomartyr-dont-go-to-anacita/Anacita|title=Anacita|website=Genius}} that has been described "as an affluent suburb that looks quaint and respectable but maybe has too many cops for the population size." "Up The Tower", a "fantasy folk song about a craven, money-hungry troll that lived at the top of a golden tower and the heroic townspeople that would eventually dethrone him", was influenced by Charley Pride's cover of "Crystal Chandelier" and contains a reference to The English Mail-Coach by Thomas De Quincey. The song "Male Plague" deals with "weird toxic male attitude" he had witnessed from his experience in the "music iundustry [sic]". "Corpses In Regalia" incorporates dream imagery and is influenced by Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber. The closing track "Half Sister" is a "swaggering, misanthropic song in which Casey tells three (fictional) tales from different points in history all regarding the idea of 'truth'",{{cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/20088/reviews/4151375|title=Album Review: Protomartyr - Relatives In Descent|website=DrownedInSound|access-date=2017-11-06|archive-date=2017-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107011100/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/20088/reviews/4151375|url-status=dead}} ending with the refrain "She's just trying to reach you" which also ends the opening track "A Private Understanding", hence bringing the album "full circle" with the sense that "hope isn't quite dead, but it's also no closer than when we started."{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/09/album-review-protomartyr-relatives-in-descent/|title=Album Review: Protomartyr – Relatives in Descent|date=27 September 2017|publisher=}}

The album cover depicts Maude Fealy.{{cite web |last1=Casey |first1=Joe |title=Joe From Protomartyr AMA |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/axb8fc/joe_from_protomartyr_ama/ehsumvk/ |website=reddit.com |accessdate=5 March 2019}}

The album was released on the 29th of September 2017 through Domino Recording Company.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Protomartyr-Relatives-In-Descent-/release/10915802|title=Protomartyr (2) - Relatives In Descent|website=Discogs}}

The tracks "A Private Understanding", "My Children" and "Don't Go To Anacita" were released as singles on July 10, August 15 and October 27th respectively. The videos for "A Private Understanding" (directed by Tony Wolski and Trevor Naud) and "Don't Go To Anacita" (directed by Yoonha Park) were uploaded through the band's official YouTube channel on the aforementioned dates of their release.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1951025/protomartyr-a-private-understanding-video/video/|title=Protomartyr – "A Private Understanding" Video|date=10 July 2017|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/listening-booth/fighting-technology-and-kombucha-and-complacency-with-protomartyr|title=Fighting Technology and Kombucha and Complacency with Protomartyr|first=Lauretta|last=Charlton|date=27 October 2017|publisher=|via=www.newyorker.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXL3qz_2IdljO3JD9ULJ-gg?&ab_channel=protomartyr|title=protomartyr|website=YouTube}}

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 8.2/10{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/8955/Protomartyr-Relatives-In-Descent.aspx|title=Relatives In Descent by Protomartyr reviews|website=AnyDecentMusic?|accessdate=November 2, 2017}}

| MC = 85/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/relatives-in-descent/protomartyr|title=Reviews and Tracks for Relatives in Descent by Protomartyr|website=Metacritic|accessdate=November 2, 2017}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/relatives-in-descent-mw0003080210|title=Relatives in Descent – Protomartyr|first=Mark|last=Deming|website=AllMusic|accessdate=April 22, 2020}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2score = B+{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-new-protomartyr-record-sounds-as-bleak-as-everythin-1818625428|title=The new Protomartyr record sounds as bleak as everything feels|first=Clayton|last=Purdom|website=The A.V. Club|date=September 27, 2017|accessdate=November 23, 2017}}

| rev3 = Chicago Tribune

| rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-protomartyr-relatives-in-descent-0929-story.html|title=World's compass feels askew on Protomartyr's 'Relatives in Descent'|first=Greg|last=Kot|author-link=Greg Kot|website=Chicago Tribune|date=September 29, 2017|accessdate=November 23, 2017}}

| rev4 = Financial Times

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/35c7ac8c-a3ec-11e7-b797-b61809486fe2|title=Protomartyr: Relatives in Descent — 'noisy but expertly deployed'|first=Ludovic|last=Hunter-Tilney|website=Financial Times|date=September 29, 2017|accessdate=May 11, 2019|url-access=subscription}}

| rev5 = The Guardian

| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/28/protomartyr-relatives-in-descent-review-sensational-bloodied-but-unbowed-post-punk|title=Protomartyr: Relatives in Descent review – sensational, bloodied but unbowed post-punk|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|website=The Guardian|date=September 28, 2017|accessdate=November 23, 2017}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/protomartyr-relatives-in-descent-review-2145681|title=Protomartyr – 'Relatives In Descent' Review|first=Thomas|last=Smith|website=NME|date=September 29, 2017|accessdate=December 13, 2019}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 6.9/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/protomartyr-relatives-in-descent/|title=Protomartyr: Relatives in Descent|first=Paul|last=Thompson|website=Pitchfork|date=October 2, 2017|accessdate=November 2, 2017}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Protomartyr: Relatives in Descent|first=James|last=Oldham|journal=Q|issue=378|date=November 2017|page=112}}

| rev9 = Record Collector

| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/relatives-descent|title=Protomartyr – Relatives In Descent|first=Kevin|last=Harley|journal=Record Collector|issue=472|date=November 2017|accessdate=November 1, 2018}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = 8/10{{cite journal|title=Protomartyr: Relatives in Descent|first=Peter|last=Watts|journal=Uncut|issue=246|date=November 2017|page=35}}

}}

The album, like its predecessors, received critical acclaim from several sources.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/critics-pick-top-10-best-albums-of-2017|title=Best of 2017: Music Critic Top Ten Lists|website=Metacritic|access-date=2019-03-19|archive-date=2021-01-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118201758/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/critics-pick-top-10-best-albums-of-2017|url-status=dead}} According to Metacritic, the album has a "metascore" of 85 based on 25 reviews. It also has a score of 8.2 based on 21 reviews on the site AnyDecentMusic?.

In a perfect score review for The Guardian, Ben Beaumont-Thomas called the album "sensational" and praised Casey's "soapbox poetry" lyrics, noting that it "never becomes leaden or pedantic" despite tackling serious issues. "While his band has grown into a post-punk monster," wrote Ben Salmon for Paste, "Casey, too, has moved beyond his personal frets and frustrations and developed into a lyricist capable of clear and compelling commentary. He's a voice worth listening to."{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/protomartyr/protomartyr-relatives-in-descent-review/|title=Protomartyr: Relatives In Descent Review|date=October 9, 2017|website=pastemagazine.com}} In another perfect score review, Danny Carter of Loud and Quiet noted that the cryptic nature of the Joycean lyrics "[help] the album steer clear of being a tacky "fake news" concept piece." The review also praised the "expertly played" music, and the publication would later go on to rank it the best album of the year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/protomartyr-relatives-descent/|title=Protomartyr - Relatives In Descent - Album review|website=Loud And Quiet}} Adam-Turner Heffer of Drowned in Sound called it "fairly incredible", and praised "A Private Understanding" as the best song of the year. NME's Thomas Smith called Casey an "elite wordsmith", and wrote - in reference to the song - that the band "have proved that they can be that cereus, blooming in the dark times we inhabit – and continue blossoming into a formidable and vital band."

Tiny Mix Tapes's Sean Hannah, on the other hand, noted that "Casey is at his lyrical best when tackling philosophical questions obliquely rather than head on". Despite this, they praised "Protomartyr's commitment to crafting challenging, academic songs reflective of their harried social and political climate."{{Cite web|url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/protomartyr-relatives-descent|title=Music Review: Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent|website=Tiny Mix Tapes}} In a similarly mixed review, Paul Thomson of Pitchfork - while praising the band's ambition - took issue with some of the "scattershot" song structures and the cryptic nature of the lyrics in comparison with the band's past releases: "[B]y inching away from the Detroit-centered world-building of previous Protomartyr records, Casey's sacrificed a certain amount of the thematic consistency that's helped past records hold their center; these songs here, for better and worse, splay out all over the map."

The album would go on to receive other accolades as well:

"My Children" has been used in the seventh episode of The Rain's first season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.popsugar.com/node/44817008|title="My Children" by Protomartyr|last=Keaney|first=Quinn|date=2018-05-26|website=POPSUGAR Entertainment|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-03}} "Half Sister" was featured in the seventh episode of The OA's second season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundtrackmania.net/the-oa-season-2-soundtrack.html/|title=The OA - Season 2 Soundtrack|date=March 24, 2019}}

{{Track listing

| writing_credits =

| total_length = 43:35

| title1 = A Private Understanding

| length1 = 5:18

| title2 = Here Is the Thing

| length2 = 2:50

| title3 = My Children

| length3 = 3:42

| title4 = Caitriona

| length4 = 1:44

| title5 = The Chuckler

| length5 = 3:43

| title6 = Windsor Hum

| length6 = 4:40

| title7 = Don't Go to Anacita

| length7 = 3:12

| title8 = Up the Tower

| length8 = 3:38

| title9 = Night-Blooming Cereus

| length9 = 3:25

| title10 = Male Plague

| length10 = 3:22

| title11 = Corpses in Regalia

| length11 = 2:43

| title12 = Half Sister

| length12 = 5:04

}}

;Protomartyr

• Joe Casey – vocals
• Greg Ahee – guitars, piano, synth
• Scott Davidson – bass
• Alex Leonard – drums

;Additional personnel

• Olivier Demeaux - synth on tracks 1, 3, 4, 8, 9
• Tyler Karmen - violin on tracks 1, 2, 5, 11

{{Reflist}}

{{Protomartyr (band)}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2017 albums

Category:Protomartyr (band) albums

Category:Domino Recording Company albums