Reviews

Prism Wrong Side demo cassette

Feeling as stuck as we do in 2020, and we won’t be forever, I really had to let go of the abrasive hardcore punk rails with this tape, and allow myself to be transported in time. PRISM is heavy and bright, post-shoegazing late-grunge-era rock in a world embracing a self-fog, pre-terror, feel-good energy, but still lost and sad. They play from the heart of punk with the glassy stare of DINOSAUR JR, the CHEATAHS, UNWOUND, and some of the more diminutive tones of SONIC YOUTH. The vocals howl beautifully with a variety of melancholy harmonies and optimistic androgyny. The dial on guitar and bass are down-tuned and the drums tumble like GUIDED BY VOICES meets SEBADOH and the WIPERS.  In the mid-’90s, I would pick up a CD based solely on the cover art—take for example STARFLYER 59 in its silver ominous sheen that ended up delivering an obscure, gloomy indie rock gift. Well, PRISM is doing the same—their logo rules, and the cyan case and red cassette would have sold me, too. The more I listen to this tape, the more I become addicted to its vibrance. Four tracks of lo-fi, noise-pop no wave joy.