Inside Protomartyr’s Next Chapter: Unpacking “Sounds We Cannot Hear”

Detroit’s own Protomartyr have never been a band to coast on autopilot. Led by the unmistakable, world-weary delivery of Joe Casey, the post-punk four-piece has carved out a decade-plus legacy on burly, intelligent music that hits you right in the chest.

Now, they’re shaking things up. Protomartyr are back with “Sounds We Cannot Hear” the lead single off their upcoming album, Hotel Usona (landing September 25 via Domino). It’s a fascinating twist for a band known for their jagged edges—proving that even as they step into more cinematic territory, they haven’t lost an ounce of their bite.

Expanding the Sonic Blueprint

If you’re expecting the relentless, white-knuckle post-punk of Relatives in Descent or Formal Growth in the Desert, “Sounds We Cannot Hear” throws a few curveballs. Recorded with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT) up at Tarbox Road Studios, the track stretches out the band’s core dynamic with some unexpected flourishes:

• Rich Textures: You’ll catch subtle layers of horns, tubular bells, and xylophone weaving through the mix rather than getting buried beneath the distortion.

• Aesthetic Shifts: Guitarist Greg Ahee leans into 1950s exotica and Middle Eastern scales, giving the song a winding, unsettling atmosphere.

• The Concept: Hotel Usona frames America as a decaying, sprawling hotel, with each song acting as a room housing a different uneasy guest. “Sounds We Cannot Hear” sets that tired, restless mood immediately, tackling the low-hum anxiety of modern information overload.

Joe Casey at His Best

Part of what makes Protomartyr tick is that Joe Casey doesn’t sing in the traditional sense—he talks, mutters, and declaims with the weary perspective of a guy who has seen too much late-night television. He sounds less like a rock star and more like the most interesting regular at the end of the bar.

On “Sounds We Cannot Hear,” Casey captures that specific modern paralysis—the numbness of doomscrolling and watching the world tilt on its axis while you’re just trying to get through the Tuesday grocery run. Even Iggy Pop has been singing the album’s praises, highlighting Casey’s knack for staying wonderfully perverse and unfiltered in a genre that often takes itself way too seriously.

A Sneak Peek at the Video

The release comes paired with a genuinely unsettling video directed by Danny Scharar and Harris Mayersohn. Starring Nate Varrone (The Bear), it plays out like a psychological thriller set inside a hibachi restaurant, caught somewhere between multi-angle surveillance footage and standard film framing. It’s weird, tense, and fits the song’s themes of low-key paranoia to a tee.

Hotel Usona is shaping up to be one of the most compelling guitar records of the year. “Sounds We Cannot Hear” proves that Protomartyr aren’t interested in repeating themselves—they’re just building a stranger, richer world to inhabit.