Review: Prude – 'The Dark Age Of Consent'

PRUDE
'The Dark Age Of Consent'
METROPOLIS RECORDS

Throw members of Chemlab, Caustic, Plastic Heroes, Infocollapse, as well as the producer of 13MG, Ministry, and Blondie into a blender with a tab of acid and Iggy Pop's leather jeans and what do you get? The answer, if you haven't guessed already is Prude. An international mashup of snotty glam-punk and groovy but noisy synths that come together to create something rather clever and catchy.

Powered by memorable riffs, Iggy-esque vocals and sleazy synth embellishments, Prude's début album, 'The Dark Age Of Consent', is a crass, intelligent and rocking slice of industrial rock that recalls the likes of 1000 Homo DJs, The New York Dolls, Suede, Iggy Pop, Two and even Beck. With songs such as 'Great Eraser (In The Sky)', 'Plague Star (Black Light Burning)', 'Airlock', 'Scatterbrain' and 'Sniper (At The Gates Of Dawn)' in their arsenal, they more than prove their rock 'n' roll credentials with big riffs and sing-a-long vocals. While the likes of 'PLUSism', 'Cigarette Burn Heart' and 'Knife' show a dark wit to their writing that elevates the album above pure superficial rock.

Prude are perhaps the first band in a long time... perhaps since Revolting Cocks, that truly deserve the industrial rock supergroup title. 'The Dark Age Of Consent' is a classic sounding album that is well written and well performed, especially considering the band members are separated by substantial distances.

The production is great and sounds bang up-to-date while preserving the sleazy punk undertones running throughout the album. It would be nice to hear the electronics mixed a bit higher in a few places, as they just add that extra kick to the songs where they are used.

'The Dark Age Of Consent' is a very strong début album that fully utilises the wealth of skill and experience of its writers. The songs are catchy and approachable with plenty of wit and intelligence behind them. Hopefully this will be the first of many albums to bear the Prude name.

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