To The Furthest Reaches: New Praha Depart

The first new song posted on Praha Depart’s MySpace is the nine-minute “dot.” It’s a little bit misleading. That long-running track is plenty spectacular – though the manic cowbell-assisted beat and groove of the whole thing wow, it’s the at-times-screamed vocals that bring up images of Bjork in our heads that steals the show – but not all of Praha Depart’s new songs try to be as huge. “Portraitman” and “Patrol Song” both continue to find the group pushing their brand of schitzo-rock to the edge…and goddamn that voice…but whereas “dot.” leaves plenty of room for Praha Depart to stretch out, these two songs come off as way more claustrophobic. Guitars don’t lift the lead vocals up as much as they circle them relentlessly, forcing the singing to be extra intense to get through…and on “Patrol Song” in particular they are just that, to the point where I picture the singer vibrating as she lets out her words. Regardless of how long they stretch it out, Praha Depart’s latest batch of songs continue to explore some strange places. Listen here.