Prosaics: they wanna be adored, and not just by the dark of heart

Interview, Feb, 2005 by Simona Rabinovitch

12-14

Being in a rock band is complicated, especially in New York. The city is littered with hopefuls struggling with issues like how to cultivate an outsider's charisma and an insider's connections, whether to be sincere or ironic, whether to be disheveled or dapper, and how to most genuinely convey authenticity.

But for Prosaics, who have coolness credentials in spades, getting caught up in New York's rock 'n' roll rat race is to be avoided at all costs. "I have a problem with this idea that bands are pitted against each other," bristles front man Andy Comer, evoking the raw-boned emotional honesty of the trio's five-track debut EP, Aghast Agape (Dim Mak), a visceral antidote to hipster cynicism. Juxtaposing post-punk rock riffage with a lyrical vulnerability, the record is a collection of edgy songs about love, failure, and longing, delivered by Comer with an expressionistic grace.

The band has toured with groups like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Rapture, but despite fitting right into the mope-rock movement of the moment, Prosaics are not as interested in ruling the brooding cool-kid ghetto as they are breaking out of it. "We want to create as broad an atmosphere as possible," explains Comer. "Even our name speaks to ordinary experiences that mean different things to different people."

Simona Rabinovitch is a Montreal-based writer.