Album Review: Gender Roles – Prang

Emerging from Brighton, UK’s eclectic DIY scene are Gender Roles, formed at a Pride party in 2015 they have been touring far and wide bringing their blend of grunge, punk and indie to a steadily growing fanbase, Gender Roles are now set to release their debut album “Prang” that follows up on their duo of EP’s, 2017’s “Planet X-Ray” and 2018’s “Lazer Rush“. The band’s first full length was recorded with producer Ian Sadler at Emeline Studios in Kent over ten days, the end result is an album takes the angst and playfulness of Gender Roles‘ sound and delivers an album that addresses the immediate problems that modern life generates.

“You Look Like Death” fades in and would seem to be an odd choice for track one side one with it’s clashing rhythms and off kilter backing vocals, this is followed by “Always” that is reminiscent of Supergrass‘s more driven moments. As “Prang” progresses it’s clear that Gender Roles are experimenting with their sound, songs break down and build back to triumphant choruses with abrasive guitar riffs. There are moments of intensity that are balanced with lulls in the each of the ten tracks that steadily build towards the album’s epic finale “Bubble“.

There’s a lot about Gender Roles that is worth further investigation, “Prang” is not an easy album to initially warm to but once you adjust to their idiosyncrasies there’s a lot to discover. This is not punk rock 101 and “Prang” often has more in common with the early recordings by Pixies, Dinosaur Jnr, Sonic Youth and the aforementioned Supergrass, but before you write this off did I say that this was a bad thing? it isn’t by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just that Gender Roles are coming at things from a different perspective, with repeated listens I suspect this will be an album that grows on you over time.

“Prang” will be released on the 30th August and can be pre-ordered via Big Scary Monsters Records on CD and vinyl, you can also pre-order and pre-save the album via Gender Roles website.