Best of 2020
Best 'new' band in New York right now? If not, then send the others my way. Agitprop Alterna is PDM's second album, and a considerable stepforward from the languid, innergazing ennui of their (nonetheless still great) debut. The clues were there on the Up and Up EP that landed late last year - in fact, the title track from that record closes this new album, and there's a clear thread carried through with the artwork. Agitprop... essentially oscillates between two sonic counterpoints: the more downtempo, spaceage melancholia of the aforementioned 'Up and Up', 'It's My Body' & 'Permanent Moral Crisis' vs the buzzsaw drone of Loveless-style shoegaze rippers 'Pill', 'Emotional Devotion Creator' & 'Escalator Ism'. This is highly melodic, immaculately produced and presented modern guitar music, enough so as to make it stand out as is. But what really elevates this for me is the intellectual backbone that props it all up. There's a culture industry critique on the front ffs. But more than that, PDM magazine succeed in how they choose to express complex ideas in simple ways, addressing consumer culture, body politics, C21 existentialism, subtly suggesting how those things might all be part of the same condition(s). Agitprop Alterna is beautiful collection of infectious indiepop, but if you're willing to lean in a little closer you'll find it's a whole lot more.
