TRUE STORIES… AND OTHER

I think TRUE STORIES… AND OTHER LIES by PRYZME is more avant garde than it’s letting on. The artists themselves describe the project as eighties and nineties inspired alt rock with some prog, emo influences. There is so much more to this project. The opening track Echo of Silent Place begins with this artificial sounding crunch and clunk that feels like an ancient piece of machinery warming up. It’s got this deep menacing synth and a tinny timbre. It then explodes into this impossibly fast rock breakdown, with the guitar pushing through all of these complex licks, runs, and embellishments before the beginning of the next track opens with a crack of thunder.

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I dove so deeply into this track because it’s the perfect example of how weird and wonderful this project can be. These twisting and turning psychedelic alleyways it asks you to travel down as a listener are true tonal highlights of the project overall and remind us that PRYZME can’t be tied down to a single genre, concept, or even identity. Green Eyes showcases a more traditional, grounded opening. It has this acoustic guitar part and silky smooth vocal performance that grounds the project overall. About five minutes into this ten minute behemoth, the piece transitions with the use of this deep, rich, and bouncy bass into something entirely different to where it started. The electric guitar that comes in around this section is also awesome. It utilises a crushing distortion that leaks out of the track, especially in the tonal high points. This elevates the piece altogether and injects this mysterious song with a rock confidence that ties the different elements together beautifully. Closing out with Silent Place, the very track we heard echoes of in the opening, the song pulls everything together. It takes the rock influences and combines them with the psychedelic elements to create this track that feels avant garde but also very charming at the same time. I’m impressed by the delicate balance this project strikes between its tones. There is definitely more going on here than PRYZME is letting on. Check it out below.