 The Prom
In This Way They Found Me
Panther
Fact Records
CD Review by Shane Berry
The Prom mix classic pop-rock melodicism with a
slightly experimental indie aesthetic, creating a
blend that sounds not unlike Wayne Coyne and his piano fronting a
guitar-less Navy Blues-era Sloan. The tune is the thing
here, with James Mendenhall's expressive voice
taking center stage. Layers of piano alternate
with David Broecker's rolling bass lines and
various vintage keyboards to flesh out Joel
Brown's inspired jazz-rock drumming. The album is
mostly self-produced and great care was taken to
infuse each track with its own distinct texture,
often employing entirely different
instrumentation and mix levels from one song to
the next. While successful for the most part,
this approach does have it's misses (witness the
singer-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel effect on
"Say What You Want"). The lyrics
meanwhile, range from clever and playfully
inventive (on "Atama Transmission" and
the opener "Jean Alexander Waltz" in
particular) to a more straightforward narrative
style ("Walking Back to London"). Add
in the nearly endless, semi-live, "Sister
Christian jam" after the final track and you
have a very promising local debut from an
excellent young pop outfit.
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