The three members of Brooklyn's Prosaics are in an unfortunate place. They recorded Aghast Agape early in 2003 but didn't release it until 2004, when the music world was busy gawking over fellow '80s revivalists Interpol and Franz Ferdinand -- and oh yeah, the Cure, which released a new album as well. Yes, Interpol and Franz Ferdinand are two of the most solid bands to release new music in the last year, but their hype took away from the potential success of some competitors. To join a trend when your name is unknown can be dangerous, even if your music is quality.
And it's unfair. Because Aghast Agape is one of the more solid EPs to be released in the midst of all this '80s-revival ho hum, regardless of if it's original or not. Albeit, opener "Teeth" is a perfect blend of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out," but Prosaics isn't the first -- or only -- band to rip off other artists. The band has found its niche and perfected it. Not only would this collection fit so well into the actual 1980s that it would be bought by every Cure fan in existence, but it was smartly kept down to a five-song EP, limiting the possibility for repetition.
But maybe this is the problem: The band members have pinpointed their ideal sound so finely that they won't be able to handle an LP for fear of repeating one great song ten times. Who knows? For the time being, though, every 16-year-old who bought a Killers album should toss it aside (or in their closet, temporarily) and listen to this damn record while it still has a chance.
