Austin Sound

Anyone who has attended their high school prom knows that a certain amount of that special night’s charm comes only after looking back through a rather forgiving nostalgic lens. One can be sure that a certain circle of Hell is set aside for playing live footage of prom on a loop; we may remember it as perfect, but the real thing was far from. Dressed for Success, the latest EP release from Austin punk quintet Prom Nite, is no exception. While they do a good job of bringing back a classic snotty punk sound with a twist, the album is hampered by poor stylistic choices and a feeling of monotony that overshadows the group’s prouder moments.

“TWISTY TIES,” a track whose unnecessary capitalization teases us with expectations of volume and a twinge of kinkiness, rattles off two minutes of spastic, trebly punk rock. The vocals sound almost adolescent in pitch and tone, evoking a certain arrogance and angst that originally fed the low-fi punk the song emulates, but the talk-sung style takes away a lot of the track’s intensity until the song has a chance to build. Guitar work alternates between intentionally awkward arpeggios and standard power chords, while swelling keyboard sounds provide New Wave accents where necessary. The final twenty seconds ratchet up the intensity with vocalist Aaron screaming fervently into the mic while all other members drill forward at a calamitous pace, but it lasts so little time that one barely gets to enjoy it.

Continuing through the album, “What Did You Ray?” begins with reverbed guitar scratches backed by fuzzed out keyboard and bass lines that slam down on key notes. The vocals are reminiscent of a helium-pumped Toys That Kill or early AFI, but the intensity of the low end gives it a definite dark, almost gothic, feel. A strong chorus and final breakdown lend this song a power and crispness not found elsewhere, and make it the strongest track on the album.

“Dressed For Success” illustrates clearly some of the stylistic shortcomings of the album. The song begins with horrible retro-synth drums, complimented with fake tom hits and claps that should not be found outside of Fruity Loops demos. Warbling keyboard hums in the background but offers little to the song, and imbues the track with the same syrupy-New-Wave sound that encumbers similar albums by the Boxing Lesson. The synth drums do cease after the verse, freeing drummer Alex to stop twiddling his thumbs and start grinding out capable punk rhythms.

For all those with little experience in the matter, instrumental songs by non-instrumental bands are rarely more than a waste of time; mid-album filler “Instrumental” is no exception. Strange effects swirl over a vagely-dancy but sinister bass line before fading into nothingness after a minute and a half, leaving the listener to wonder why Prom Nite didn’t just save the money on recording and put it into improving the album’s horrible cover art.

Final track “Holiday” offers the only example of any experimentation at all, and is one of the only pieces to break the two minute mark by any significant margin. While well-placed at the end of the album, “Holiday’s” style makes it seem like the kid-without-a-date, uncomfortable and brooding. The downtempo number allows Aaron to explore a more growling, alt-rock vocal style and the guitar sounds like a cross of Fugazi and John Frusciante. The song is far from perfect, but it is one of the few songs that stands out.

The major flaw of this album is that each of the more successful songs sounds exactly like the other, and the unsuccessful ones don’t warrant discussion at all. While certain songs played independently offer a solid if not predictable punk-fusion sound, juxtaposed, they all tend to blur. “What Did You Ray?” sounds like the non-verse parts of “Dressed for Success,” which sounds like “Sunny Side Up”. On an album with only 7 legitimate songs, such homogeneity is fatal. While real-life prom gains most of its power from a universal and largely unoriginal experience, “Dressed For Success” only flounders in its own rituals, unable to trick us into believing that this Prom Nite release is anywhere near the greatest Nite of our lives.

Website:
Myspace