The sheer unadulterated free for all that is Prison is only tempered by their mastery of controlled chaos. Upstate, their latest release is another delivery in long-form, expressive, and wild sonic ramblings. Straight out of the gates ‘Hold the Building Up / The Prison Within’ sees Sarim Al-Rawi (Liquor Store), Mike Fellows (The Mighty Flashlight), Sam Jayne (who sadly passed in 2020, R.I.P.), Matt Lilly and Paul Major (Endless Boogie) bolt in seemingly random directions yet the tether binding them, and for that matter the album, is how each of the disparate contributions layer so carefully over one another. Hypnotic bass, far-flung guitar licks, howls, and groans, all meld together in a hot mess across this sprawling fifteen-minute free for all. From depths comes ‘Hold ’Em Up / Comin' Down on Me’ with its clanging and banging. A guttural and tribal beat marches defiantly ever forward. Picking up momentum, the pace quickens and an upwelling rises to the fore with a steady fuzz holding the line ensuring the vision isn’t lost and no deviation from the cause at hand is possible. Relatively speaking, ‘Low Hangin' Disco Ball / So Alone’ takes the form of a more traditional track with its rhythmic guitar and comprehensible vocals. A slow burn, the smouldering track gently sways back and forth as it lurches from washed-out reverb to sludgy bassline whilst remaining propped up by vox before it awakens from its stupor. It begins with a cough and a splatter but by song's end, ‘I Always Get What I Want / Playin' Pool With the Planets’ is nothing short of a sonic excursion. By far the longest track on the album, which is no small feat considering the extensive range of Prison’s musical wanderings, it feels like a true journey. Marching off into the distance ‘Destroy / Cookin' With Heat’ with its thick basslines and swirling guitars threatens to disband itself. The four horsemen of the apocalypse each galloping into an unknown brutalized wilderness as only Prison can.
7 / 10