Astralwerks
2007
Prinzhorn Dance School
About This Album
"It's good to have stop start/It's good to have a start stop." So sings Tobin Prinz on Prinzhorn Dance School's self-titled debut album, and it could very well be the band's manifesto. The duo's music is stripped to the barest, most distinctive elements -- Prinz's raspy sneer and Suzi Horn's girlish yelp; guitar and basslines that usually act as witty punctuation, but sometimes, without warning, pull and bend like taffy; and bashed drums that seem to comment on songs rather than just hold down the beat -- and on all of these songs, Prinz and Horn play cat-and-mouse with rhythm and melody to minimalist, absurdist effect. At times, listening to Prinzhorn Dance School becomes a game of waiting for the other shoe (or beat) to drop; the band does as much with awkward silences and pregnant pauses as they do with the actual music they make. Space, communication, and the lack of both are some of Prinzhorn Dance School's major preoccupations, particularly on the fantastic single "You Are the Space Invader": it begins with a taunting bassline that sounds like it's wagging its finger at you, Prinz and Horn lament Hampshire's air pollution, then a massive, claustrophobia-inducing one-note guitar solo levels the song.
Track List (try tracks 3,6,12 and 13)

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