Probably one of the greatest albums I’ve “ever” heard would be the 1998 opus The Italian Flag by English band Prolapse. A pretty small band even in their home country, they released four albums during their tenure in the 90s that sadly went mostly unnoticed. It’s such a shame because all their albums were an original, beautiful mix and take on existing styles like indie rock, punk, kraut rock, dub and the experimental side of shoegaze and “dream-pop” (yes, that is in quotes, but shoegaze isn’t, ok?) – but somehow taking all those influences and creating their own unique sound. It was the truest form of art rock there was, while being free of any of the cliches that come when tagged with any of those styles of music.
As Stylus Magazine said in their 2005 “On Second Thought” article on the album, “There’s really nothing quite like Prolapse—too complex and hefty for punk, too bold and fast (and, to be honest, fun) for shoegaze, too fucking odd for pop. ‘Indie’ feels like a whole can of worms that doesn’t merit touching, but maybe that’s just what Prolapse were, a properly independent band who didn’t appear to give the slightest fuck for what other people thought of them (as opposed to the kind of band who repeatedly declare that they don’t give a fuck what other people think of them) because they were rather too busy being themselves.”
Unfortunately this album is out of print – but you can still get used copies on places like the Amazon Marketplace – and I’m pretty sure it is available on iTunes and places like that. But here are two great samples from the album for your listening enjoyment, and if you’re not blasting these, preferably on a good set of headphones like Sennheisers, you’re really not HEARING it. It might be an acquired taste, but if you really listen, they were to me making pop music about 30 years ahead of it’s time. Hopefully in say 2028, they will reunite and get their due respect.
Enjoy (?) …
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