Moving Forward

Protokoll. Four nerdy looking chaps from Boston, Massachusetts, who've emerged as one of the buzz acts from the recent SxSW festival is Texas, and at the very least Lamacq's top pick for 2006.

The accolades are not unjust: Protokoll are a joyous mix of 1980s British indie, whilst also drawing much from the New York post-punk and no-wave scene of the same decade.

But they aren't just 'pop music-making machines' they assure us; more 'punk musicians making pop music with machines'. There's a difference you know. The result is a raw, urgent sound reminiscent of Bauhaus and The Sound, but with a razor-edged heaviness giving it a truly modern feel. Combining luxurious synth-pop melodies with shoegazer inspired guitar swells, they back the whole sound up with a juggernaut rhythm section.

The band hit the UK with their first 7" single 'Moving Forward' on indie imprint Illicit Recordings. It's a typical statement of the band’s ambition. Where as others would settle for the first 3 minutes of 100mph delirium where Thin Lizzy dual guitars meet The Chameleons UK, Protokoll take the song off on some blissed-out break down, before taking off for another run.

The Fly

With a punk revival as far away as ever, Boston has delivered a band that seem to like the crunch of machines as much as the crunch of guitars. It's urgently new wave and desperately good.