By: Michael Madavi
Pronto
“All Is Golden” (mp3) from “All is Golden”
(Contraphonic)
Buy at Contraphonic Site
Genre: Indie : Alternative
Release Date: 3.10.09
UPC: 656605958828
Territories: World
What’re the benefits and downsides to being the side project to a popular, critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning band? You should ask Mikael Jorgensen in about a year; the Wilco keyboardist’s new side project, Pronto has completed their debut LP, All Is Golden, after years of delay. Wilco’s high demand and resulting thick touring schedule delayed the Pronto (hah) project for a couple years before Jorgensen and his other half, Greg O’Keeffe, could get together to finish the album. The two have been long time collaborators before Jorgensen’s Wilco days, and now their debut LP All Is Golden is finished and out there for the world to hear. It’s great being in Wilco because your side project gets lots of attention; it’s rough being in Wilco because your side project will undoubtedly be compared to Wilco. What a paradox.
The band describes the new record’s sound: “All Is Golden is a 70′s-inspired tome that serves as a record of action. It is the sound of waking up and moving on, cross-country trips to California, black days and blue nights giving way to better times and warmer promises. It’s AM-Radio songsmith filtered through the speakers of a modern-day prism.” Unsurprisingly, the piano-led number “Precious like a Sneer” is the album’s strongest song; Jorgenson composes most skillfully on his native instrument. There’s a myriad of sounds on the album from extreme, compressed fuzz tones to soft, floating ambient swells; you can tell these guys used to be recording engineers. Some might label this as Wilco-light, but Pronto isn’t afraid to go heavier than Wilco typically does. Songs like “Monster,” “Unexpected Vex,” and “I Think So” are dirty, aggressive numbers. The gentle “Mrs. Bruford” illustrates a dynamic range in style. It remains to be determined exactly how far of a departure from Wilco this band is, but they certainly can be told apart. The challenge lying before Jorgensen, O’Keeffe, Erik Paparazzi (Cat Power), and Tunde Oyewole (Childballads) is to distinguish themselves from Wilco’s overbearing musical shadow. The name will help carry them to critical daylight (something an unknown band would struggle initially to achieve) but they must do the legwork from there. Give it a good listen and decide for yourself.
Grab two more PromoTracks after the jump…
Pronto
“When I’m On The Rocks” (mp3)
“Monster” (mp3)
from “All is Golden”
(Contraphonic)
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