Prince Rama
Xtreme Now
CARPARK
7/10
Prince Rama started out as noisy and rather sparkly group whose tribal drums, chanting vocals, synths, and triangles-painted-on-forehead-vibes made them a perfect fit for Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label. Sisters Taraka and Nimai Larson anchor the group, which around 2012 started to evolve into a more VHS-addled new age proposition, resulting in that year’s collection of imaginary global hits (Top Ten Hits of the End of the World). That shackle-removing process has unleashed the duo’s inner desire to write pop songs with plenty of echoes of the strange, but with a newly borne accessibility and guitar usage. The result of this liberation is Xtreme Now. Songs like “Bahia” and “Your Life in the End” are Kate Bush meets Tom Tom Club exercises in rhythm and layers. The group has alluded to the fact that this album is a sort of imaginary soundtrack to an extreme energy drink. There is a definite over-saturation here (take another look at that cover); every space is crammed with manipulated noise. It’s an endless rush of sugar and data.
