Prussia

A buzz-worthy band in a sea of nearly a thousand buzz-worthy bands, Prussia stood out in the massive New York City-wide CMJ festival last fall for its impeccable art-pop arrangements and a seemingly endless palette of textured hooks from which to draw. At once ethereal and direct, the Detroit quintet is manic in its subtlety: In just the first minute of “Sheep Hunt,” from 2011’s Poor English, Pt. 1—one of three EPs that form the band’s full-length debut—the song seamlessly moves from the opening vocal arrangement to guitar porch-stomp to plunky piano-pop to orchestral grandeur. Yet the ever-shifting moods and passages never distract from the songwriting, woven tightly by Ryan Spencer’s reedy warble and cheeky lyrics. (Like the good buzzed-about band it is, its catalog is available for free on its bandcamp site.) 

Updated 01/18/2012