Under Color of Official Right
{{For|the legal phrase "extortion under color of official right"|Hobbs Act}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Under Color of Official Right
| type = studio
| artist = Protomartyr
| cover = Under Color of Official Right.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2014|4|8}}
| recorded = June 28–30, 2013
| venue = Key Club Recording Company (Benton Harbor, Michigan)
| studio =
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| length = 34:42
| label = Hardly Art
| producer =
| prev_title = No Passion All Technique
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title = The Agent Intellect
| next_year = 2015
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Under Color of Official Right
| type = studio
| single1 = Scum, Rise!
| single1date = January 10, 2014
| single2 = Come & See
| single2date = February 24, 2014
}}
}}
Under Color of Official Right is the second studio album by Detroit post punk band Protomartyr. It was released on April 8, 2014 by Hardly Art.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1672603/stream-protomartyr-under-color-of-official-right/mp3s/album-stream/|title=Stream Protomartyr Under Color of Official Right|work=Stereogum|date=March 31, 2014|accessdate=September 4, 2015|last=Deville|first=Chris}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 83/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/under-color-of-official-right/protomartyr|title=Reviews for Under Color of Official Right by Protomartyr|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/under-color-of-official-right-mw0002613186|title=Under Color of Official Right – Protomartyr|publisher=AllMusic|last=Thomas|first=Fred|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}
| rev2 = Consequence of Sound
| rev2Score = B−{{cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2014/05/album-review-protomartyr-under-color-of-official-right/|title=Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right|work=Consequence of Sound|last=Schonfeld|first=Zach|date=May 30, 2014|accessdate=May 9, 2019}}
| rev3 = Drowned in Sound
| rev3Score = 8/10{{cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18228/reviews/4147747|title=Album Review: Protomartyr – Under Color Of Official Right|work=Drowned in Sound|last=Gourlay|first=Dom|date=May 14, 2014|accessdate=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509073302/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18228/reviews/4147747|url-status=dead}}
| rev4 = NME
| rev4Score = 8/10{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/15239|title=Protomartyr – 'Under Color Of Official Right'|work=NME|last=Homewood|first=Ben|date=April 17, 2014|accessdate=September 5, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425095933/http://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/15239|archivedate=April 25, 2014|url-status=dead}}
| rev5 = The Observer
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/06/under-color-official-right-review-protomartyr|title=Under Color of Official Right review – Protomartyr's 'pleasurable dose of anomie'|work=The Observer|date=April 6, 2014|accessdate=December 20, 2019|last=Empire|first=Kitty|author-link=Kitty Empire}}
| rev6 = Paste
| rev6Score = 8.6/10{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/04/protomartyr-under-color-of-official-right-review.html|title=Protomartyr: Under Color of Official Right Review|work=Paste|last=Prado|first=Ryan J.|date=April 8, 2014|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}
| rev7 = Pitchfork
| rev7Score = 8.1/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19150-protomartyr-under-color-of-official-right/|title=Protomartyr: Under Color of Official Right|work=Pitchfork|last=Minsker|first=Evan|date=April 7, 2014|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}
| rev8 = Q
| rev8score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Protomartyr: Under Color of Official Right|journal=Q|issue=334|date=May 2014|page=116}}
| rev9 = Rolling Stone
| rev9Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/under-color-of-official-right-20140417|title=Under Color of Official Right|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|date=April 17, 2014|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}
| rev10 = Spin
| rev10Score = 8/10{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/protomartyr-under-color-of-official-right/|title=Protomartyr Open a Can of Post-Punk, Whoop-Ass on 'Under Color of Official Right'|work=Spin|last=Tedder|first=Michael|date=April 14, 2014 |accessdate=September 5, 2015}}
}}
Under Color of Official Right was met with considerable praise from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 83, based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Ranking it the 5th best album of the decade in 2020, Brooklyn Vegan wrote:
Post punk sounds and industrial towns go hand in hand. Detroit’s Protomartyr have a sense of urgency and anger that could’ve sprouted from somewhere like Manchester or Cleveland in 1979 but frontman Joe Casey’s lyrics could’ve only sprung from one time and place. With a half-sung, half-shouted delivery, Casey is a true original, spewing literate bile that is usually funny, bleak and thoughtful all at the same time, while his three talented bandmates match his words with dark, powerful, exceptionally well-crafted music. [...] Under Color of Official Right, has them firing on all cylinders with Casey pointing his lens at, among other things, coastal invaders of his Detroit, absentee dads, local politics and inter-band dynamics. Best new band of this decade.
Accolades
In addition to the ones listed below, the song "Maidenhead" was ranked by Spin and Les Inrockuptibles as the 68th{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/12/101-best-songs-2014/|title=The 101 Best Songs of 2014|date=2014-12-08|website=Spin|access-date=2019-02-20}} and 42nd{{Cite web|url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/2014/12/11/musique/les-100-meilleurs-albums-lannee-inrocks-11540162/|title=Les 100 meilleurs albums de l'année des inRocKs|website=Les Inrocks|language=fr-FR|access-date=2019-02-20}} best song of the year respectively. Pitchfork ranked "Scum, Rise!" 90th on their list of "The 100 Best Tracks of 2014".{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9555-the-100-best-tracks-of-2014/?page=2|title=The 100 Best Tracks of 2014 - Page 2|website=Pitchfork}} Rob Sheffield ranked "What the Wall Said" 7th on his list of the "Top 25 Songs of 2014 So Far".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rob-sheffields-top-25-songs-of-2014-so-far-86491/|title=Rob Sheffield's Top 25 Songs of 2014 So Far|first1=Rob|last1=Sheffield|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=19 June 2014|publisher=}}
=Year-end=
:
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Publication
! Country ! Accolade ! Rank |
|---|
| The A.V. Club
| U.S. | The 20 best albums of 2014 |
| No Ripcord
| U.K. | Top Albums of 2014 |
| Loud and Quiet
| U.K. | Albums of The Year 2014 |
| Rolling Stone
| U.S. | Rob Sheffield's Top 20 Albums of 2014 | #10{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rob-sheffields-top-20-albums-of-2014-192429/|title=Rob Sheffield's Top 20 Albums of 2014|first1=Rob|last1=Sheffield|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=24 December 2014|publisher=}} |
| Chicago Tribune
| U.S. | Top albums of 2014 |
| The New York Times
| U.S. | Ben Ratliff’s Top 10 Albums and Songs of 2014 |
| NME
| U.K. | Top 50 Albums of 2014 |
| Spin
| U.S. | The 50 Best Albums of 2014 |
| Pazz & Jop
| U.S. | The Top 50 Albums of 2014 |
=Decade-end=
:
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Publication
! Country ! Accolade ! Rank |
|---|
| Treble
|U.S. |Top 150 Albums of the 2010s |
| Slug Mag
|U.S. |10 Post-Punk Albums From The 2010s That You'll Love Into 2020 |
| rowspan=2|BrooklynVegan
|rowspan=2|U.S. |141 Best Albums of the 2010s |
| Bill’s Indie Basement: Favorite Albums of the 2010s |
Influence & covers
Author David Means cited the tracks "Maidenhead" and "Ain't So Simple", among others, as an influence on his novel Hystopia, writing that "they reclaim a certain Detroit aesthetic—casting an ear back to noisy machine tooling shops and factory floors, while also forward to some high tech future."{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/literary-mixtapes-by-electric-literature/2016/may/04/literary-mixtape-david-meanss-soundtrack-for-reflecting-on-the-vietnam-war|title=Literary Mixtape: David Means's soundtrack for reflecting on the Vietnam War|first=David|last=Means|newspaper=The Guardian |date=May 4, 2016|via=www.theguardian.com}} Andy MacFarlane of The Twilight Sad called it one of his favorite albums of the year.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thereprise.org/features/a-conversation-with-the-twilight-sad-james-graham|title = A Conversation with the Twilight Sad's James Graham| date=23 February 2015 }} The Dirty Nil covered the track "I'll Take That Applause" as the b-side to the sixth volume of their The Dirty Nil Record Club series of singles, released in 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25rmBhQll0OhZrBuIgZAOO|title = The Dirty Nil's All-Star Covers|website = Spotify}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Dirty-Nil-The-Dirty-Nil-Record-Club-Volume-6/release/9837952|title=The Dirty Nil – the Dirty Nil Record Club Volume 6 (2017, Clear, Lathe Cut)|website=Discogs|date=January 2017 }}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| title1 = Maidenhead
| length1 = 3:38
| title2 = Ain't So Simple
| length2 = 2:17
| title3 = Want Remover
| length3 = 2:29
| title4 = Trust Me Billy
| length4 = 2:14
| title5 = Pagans
| length5 = 1:11
| title6 = What the Wall Said
| length6 = 3:11
| title7 = Tarpeian Rock
| length7 = 2:02
| title8 = Bad Advice
| length8 = 2:40
| title9 = Son of Dis
| length9 = 1:08
| title10 = Scum, Rise!
| length10 = 2:37
| title11 = I Stare at Floors
| length11 = 2:33
| title12 = Come & See
| length12 = 3:56
| title13 = Violent
| length13 = 1:51
| title14 = I'll Take That Applause
| length14 = 2:55
}}
Personnel
Adapted from liner notes:
- Bass Guitar – Scott Davidson
- Drums – Alex Leonard
- Guitar, Synthesizer ["Prophet 5"] – Greg Ahee
- Vocals ["Vox"] – Joe Casey
- Writing ["All Songs By"] – Protomartyr
;Additional credits
- Mastering – Sarah Register
- Recording, Mixing – Bill Skibbe
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
|+Under Color of Official Right album chart |
| scope="col"| Chart
! scope="col"| Peak position |
|---|
| {{Album chart|BillboardRock|19|artist=Protomartyr}} |
| {{Album chart|BillboardHeatseekers|19|artist=Protomartyr}} |