Projekt A-ko – Hey Palooka!
I covered Projekt A-ko six months ago just before their album Yoyodyne was released. In the time since, I’ve discovered that album is superb, and certainly in contention for best of the year. I don’t have any reason to write about them again now (no new single or anything), but hey, some of you might have overlooked this on release. You’ll be doing yourself a large disservice if you continue to do so.
Projekt A-ko utilise all of those elements that made the 90s indie rock scene so interesting. Vocals that don’t tend to give a shit are mumbled out over guitar work that is as lazy as it is intricate. It’s the kind of thing that should work against itself, just sounding like a throwback to an earlier time. Instead, Projekt A-ko make it their own.
Hey Palooka! is the opening track from the album, and does take a good thirty seconds or so to actually build into anything, so don’t be put off by the sounds of silence at the start. So in a time where there isn’t a great deal of exciting new material coming out, it’s worth exploring this stunning piece of work.
Yoyodyne was released back in April and is available directly from the band.
If this isn’t the best record of the year, it is easily second or third best.