The Band Formerly Known As Prince
These Denver-based Princelings know how to go crazy
It takes balls to swipe—one might even say mock—Prince's name (or his former lack thereof). The Band Formerly Known As Prince? Yeah, they go there. And yet, from the sound of the electro-brat onslaught known as “Angst Riot,” it’s pretty clear the group’s balls haven’t even dropped yet. The quartet of Denver teens doesn’t seem to have any qualms about the brazenness of their name, though. Or about quoting Britney Spears liberally throughout “Riot.” Or about making a video for the song that’s filmed in their own high school, one that’s sure to get them both laid and beaten up every day from now until graduation.
Of course, The Band Formerly Known As doesn’t sound anything like Prince. But the group’s basement-fidelity mix of hormone-spurting dance-punk and pure radio-pop is they type of shit The Jonas Brothers probably wake up in a cold sweat having nightmares about. And that alone should earn the band some kudos when it plays tonight at the LifeSpot in Centennial. They don’t have to be cool to rule your world—they just need to keep cranking out catchy, exuberant, let's-go-crazy anthems like “Angst Riot.” And, like 3OH!3 before them, these flamboyantly noisy kids might just be ruling Denver before long.
