If you are looking for British post-punk with a highly nostalgic twist, you just found it. ‘The Protector’ marks the latest effort by Welsh-based outfit nineplanfailed, a track that follows in the footsteps of its predecessor ‘You P0rn Is Not My P0rn’, and a charming live album recorded at Hydrus Live. The result of a highly collaborative creative process, ‘The Protector’ has also been produced by Joe Gibb (Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Wire).
From a sonic standpoint, ‘The Protector’ follows the group’s gritty post-punk character, here tinged with synth Britannia references and nostalgic synth-pop allure. You’ll find dark basslines, fuzzy guitars and icy drums, but also the sort of string-like tone that one would hear in a Joy Division album. In that sense, nineplanfailed oscillate between melancholic gloominess and lighter, harmonic episodes, creating a nice tension between the project’s many faces.
Delving deeper into the meaningful ethos that propels the single, nineplanfailed explain: “It was sparked by a news story about violence and unrest, and the band imagined the very human moment of a parent trying to shield a child when everything feels chaotic. The lyrics channel that tension between fear and determination, and the instinct to protect at any cost.” We appreciate such a haunting, intense theming, made even more gloomy by its post-punk livery.
Recommended! Discover ‘The Protector’ now: