Led by David Frederickson's dark and masked vocals, Portland band The Prids return with ...Until the World is Beautiful. If the Prids 2003 debut Love Zero was any indication to what is barreling through their tunnel, well, this isn't the light at the end. The record is beautiful and dreary. It's like the moment you realize your best friend is leaving you for a great life in another country. You can't help feeling hurt, lost, confused, and angry, but also excited and joyful for your friend. As sung in "Shadow and Shadow," "If he was looking I would try to cry / I froze that frame for the longest time." The album is depressingly beautiful, like you've done something for the "good" side, but you're soiled from head to toe.
They do have hooks in these songs: "Shadow and Shadow" shows the band's potential not only to create a catchy indie melody, but to make it work. Growling bass lines drive the songs along a dark and foggy path, reminiscent of a less pop-oriented, minimalist Pixies. The male/female vocal attack and post-indie guitar parts bring to mind bands like the Dambuilders, Volt, and others who are able to use two vocal parts to create more out of less.
The friend/married/divorced couple of David Frederickson and Mistina Keith lead listeners along a tale of Morrisey posters, isolation and post-punk-indie attitude. The vocals are masked, possibly on purpose and possibly not. They are almost audible, to the point that it drives you to read the liner notes. Listeners could almost make up their own lyrics, but wouldn't dare: they'd read more like a suicide letter than a rock song.
-Matthew Johnson
♥ West Coast Performer
Whether the seething chemistry between guitarist David Frederickson and bassist Mistina Keith is rooted in their overlapping personal lives, or just growing up listening to the same weird records, PDX pair, The Prids craft captivating songs: the rumbling "The Glow," the dense din of "Infection," lickety-split guitar licks woven into "Forever Again." Their sophomore full-length, ...Until the World Is Beautiful, relies on traditional post-punk timbres, melodic bass riffs, buzz-saw guitars, whip-crack percussion-yet heightens the tension with disquieting boy-girl vocal harmonies.
♥ The Stranger (Seattle)
"Cool dark underground pop. The Prids are led by the ex-husband and wife team of David Frederickson and Mistina Keith (the two still share a home even though they untied the knot). The tunes on ...Until the World is Beautiful might best be described as vibration pop. Instead of tossing off cutesy melodies and/or blowing away listeners with volume, Frederickson and Keith seem content to create grooves and vibes with their music...just allowing things to happen. The accidental elements in the music make it most appealing. That plus the exceptional vocals that are always subdued and low in the mix. The band is rounded out by Eric Hold (keyboards) and Joey Mass (drums). These people are doing everything right...making music out of a pure love of doing so. This is obvious from the tunes on this album. Killer tracks include "The Glow," "Like Hearts," "Forever Again," and "Infection." Genuinely entertaining." (Rating: 5+)
♥ Baby Sue
"...The highlight of the night was definitely the first opener: The Prids. Granted, I'm a sucker for a chick on the bass, but the Prids were pure indie rock goodness. They were fairly straight-ahead garage, but the songs that included bassist Mistina Keith on vocals sounded like a less esoteric version of Erase Errata."
♥ spin.com
"Guess what? Post-punk is alive and kicking as this LP demonstrates. Think waves of intricate synth-pop melodies with undenieable new wave influenced and exerimental rock overtures provide the setting for the haunting, dual girl/boy vocals. It's fresh, beautiful, and deserves to be heard." (BN)
♥ Punk Planet
"The Prids whip the stars open with skinny ties and luxuriate in the stardusted fuzz of guitar-based, danceable grooves. Their synths, spare drumming and spectral vocals splay across gooseflesh-raising bass lines..."
♥ L.A. Weekly
"They have a distinctly European feel to them and will be, in time, a band that is greatly respected by crowds who will come to see them full of wonder and - check them out before they get big - you can brag, 'I knew them when'..."
♥ Starvox Webzine
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT. YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS BAND RIGHT NOW! Imagine if My Bloody Valentine and New Order decided to collaborate when they were both at their peaks. They'd make magenta-charged electro-wave, a crashing of static guitars with a heavily delicate synthesizer melody and unexpected drum smatters. The vocals would be iridescent, with breathy distortion. Imagine the electricity in that dark tension. That's The Prids."
♥ The Portland Mercury
