Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Prinzhorn Dance School "Usurper" Stream, LP Out 1/31 on DFA!


“…this British duo may be cutting-edge record label DFA’s secret weapon.”
- KCRW

"In the tradition of Gang of Four and the Fall, Prinzhorn Dance School set fierce lyrical jeremiads to jittery guitar and compellingly herky-jerk drum and bass patterns."
SPIN

It's hard to think of a band whose music gives a more thrillingly clear picture of what living in 21st century Britain is actually like than Prinzhorn Dance School. The duo have played to ecstatic crowds across Europe and now Tobin Prinz (voice, guitar, drums) and Suzi Horn (voice, bass, drums) are bringing their unique brand of encouragingly hopeful tunes to the US. "Usurper” showcases the duo’s layered vocals, which crisply break through gaps of silence with lurching drums in tow. Check out the “Usurper” streamwhere it premiered with SPIN today or HERE. You’re welcome to post and share this track! Prinzhorn Dance School’s second record, Clay Class, will be released January 31 on DFA Records.

Happy In Bits” opens the record and greets us straight away with “so glad you’re here…” over a fluctuating guitar riff and locked down bass line. “While the cries of call and response on “Your Fire Has Gone Out” express an air of finality, “The Flora and Fauna of Britain in Bloom” tenderly confirms that the light at the end of the tunnel does not always have be an oncoming train. Closing the record, “Shake The Jar” is an airy almost off the cuff-feeling tune, the two of them sounding both vulnerable and maybe even a little amazed to be back.

  The record follows their self titled 2007 debut on DFA, which was mixed here in New York by James Murphy. It abruptly introduced the world to the peculiar shared mindspace  of Tobin and Suzi, and had a certified indie anthem with the single “You Are The Space Invader”. Prinzhorn Dance School’s journey the past few years has played a vital role in painting the landscape for Clay Class. As Tobin recently expressed:

"Even though our band lives in two different places at once - Brighton and Portsmouth", Prinz explains, "a sense of belonging doesn't really happen in either. I think that’s a wider issue which probably affects millions of people in this country, and the empty spaces Suzi and I are interested in – fields; lakes; warehouses; the sea; huge, people-less car-parks, or even the gaps in our music itself – simultaneously amplify that feeling, and give you the room to ask questions about it”. 

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