Prick’s theatrical industrial punk is perfect for spooky season

Prick 的戏剧化工业朋克是万圣节氛围的绝佳选择

If Trent Reznor studied musical theater instead of computer engineering, NIN might have sounded like Prick. 如果 Trent Reznor 当年学习的是音乐剧而非计算机工程，那么九寸钉（NIN）听起来可能就会像 Prick 乐队那样。

While deep in the recording process for The Downward Spiral, Trent Reznor lent some of his production talents to old friend Kevin McMahon, from the new wave band Lucky Pierre (which Reznor was briefly a member of). While Reznor is only credited as the producer on four tracks off Prick’s self-titled debut record, his fingerprints are all over it. But McMahon also can’t suppress his inner theater kid, which also gives the songs the sort of glammy flamboyance found on T. Rex records. Prick embraces the inherent theatricality of goth in a way that Nine Inch Nails never did. 在录制《The Downward Spiral》期间，Trent Reznor 将部分制作才华贡献给了老友 Kevin McMahon——来自新浪潮乐队 Lucky Pierre（Reznor 曾短暂加入过该乐队）。虽然 Reznor 仅在 Prick 同名首张专辑的四首曲目中被列为制作人，但整张专辑处处留下了他的印记。然而，McMahon 无法抑制内心那个“戏剧小孩”的冲动，这赋予了歌曲一种在 T. Rex 唱片中常见的华丽感。Prick 以一种九寸钉从未尝试过的方式，拥抱了哥特音乐中固有的戏剧性。

Opener “Communiqué” is a fuzzy blast of simple punk riffs with electronic sprinklings on top. McMahon’s vocals occasionally detour from the half-spoken verses that sound borrowed from a musical to full-throated Al Jourgensen-esque screams. The rough-around-the-edges production and focus on live instrumentation feel like a prototype for what Reznor would eventually revisit on With Teeth. 开场曲《Communiqué》是一阵模糊的简单朋克吉他扫弦，点缀着电子音效。McMahon 的演唱偶尔会从听起来像是借用自音乐剧的半说半唱，转变为 Al Jourgensen 式的全力嘶吼。这种粗粝的制作和对现场乐器的专注，感觉像是 Reznor 后来在《With Teeth》中重拾风格的原型。

But it’s the second track, “Riverhead,” where Reznor’s influences fully rear their head (even though he is not actually credited as the producer). The vocal melodies swerve like Outside- and Earthling-era Bowie around guitars that buzz with all the digital charr of the Broken EP. Then, around the three-minute mark, comes the breakdown. It slowly builds with layers of electronic drums, mechanical chords, and loping synthetic-sounding guitar melodies. The entire back chunk could easily have been a Downward Spiral or even The Fragile B-side. 但到了第二首曲目《Riverhead》，Reznor 的影响才完全显现出来（尽管他并未被列为制作人）。人声旋律像《Outside》和《Earthling》时期的 David Bowie 那样游走，周围环绕着带有《Broken》EP 那种数字焦灼感的吉他声。随后，在三分钟左右，乐曲进入了分解段落。它通过层层叠加的电子鼓、机械和弦和跳跃的合成器吉他旋律缓慢构建。整段后半部分完全可以被视为《Downward Spiral》甚至《The Fragile》的 B 面曲目。

These moments of richly layered production, though, are almost always immediately undermined, as with the sloppy garage-punk intro of “Tough.” 然而，这些层次丰富的制作时刻几乎总是会立即被破坏，就像《Tough》那段邋遢的车库朋克前奏一样。

It’s these moments that make Prick so charming. It’s a serious record, but it never takes itself too seriously. McMahon isn’t afraid to get goofy (“Pink panties, blue panties, yellow panties. I’m gonna wrap around your nose, oh panty-ho-hose” he sings on “Other People”) and over-the-top with his vocal performances. He’s willing to let the guitar drift out of time, the bass strings rattle, and revels in industrial lo-fi. 正是这些时刻让 Prick 如此迷人。这是一张严肃的唱片，但它从不把自己看得太严肃。McMahon 不怕搞怪（他在《Other People》中唱道：“粉色内裤，蓝色内裤，黄色内裤。我要缠在你的鼻子上，哦，内裤袜……”），也不怕在演唱上表现得夸张。他乐于让吉他节奏漂移，让贝斯弦发出杂音，并沉浸在工业低保真（lo-fi）的质感中。

“Animal” is perhaps the best-known track from the album, its video having received at least some MTV airplay. It combines backward melodic samples reminiscent of “Closer” and follows a similar lyrical theme: 《Animal》或许是专辑中最广为人知的曲目，其 MV 曾获得过 MTV 的播放。它结合了让人想起《Closer》的倒放旋律采样，并遵循了相似的歌词主题：

Consent is all I need / To bring out the savage in me / Your scent is all I need / To bring out the animal in me 我只需要你的同意 / 就能唤醒我内心的野蛮 / 我只需要你的气息 / 就能唤醒我内心的野兽

But where “Closer” opts for slinky disco sleaze, “Animal” is all raw shouted desire. 但与《Closer》选择那种滑腻的迪斯科颓废感不同，《Animal》展现的是纯粹而原始的呐喊欲望。

“I Apologize” is the most scatter-brained track on the album, and for that reason, one of my favorites. It opens with awkward whip-crack-like percussion and McMahon singing slightly flat and unaffected, before briefly taking off into a jangly new wave verse that quickly morphs into a hard-rock stop in the chorus. But that’s short-lived as well. The second verse is all “Space Oddity”-era Bowie acoustic strums, then there’s a solo that sounds like an arcade machine on the verge of meltdown. That then drops into a Ministry-esque dirge of layered guitars and screams. The song then returns to the chorus, but keeps adding elements until it’s stuffed to capacity and collapses on itself. 《I Apologize》是专辑中最天马行空的曲目，也正因如此，它是我最喜欢的作品之一。它以尴尬的鞭打式打击乐开场，McMahon 的演唱略显走调且平淡，随后短暂进入一段叮当作响的新浪潮主歌，又迅速转变为副歌中硬摇滚式的停顿。但这同样转瞬即逝。第二段主歌全是《Space Oddity》时期 Bowie 式的木吉他扫弦，接着是一段听起来像即将崩溃的街机游戏机的独奏。随后，乐曲坠入一段 Ministry 风格的、充满层叠吉他和尖叫的哀歌。歌曲最后回到副歌，但不断加入新元素，直到塞满所有空间并自我崩塌。

Prick’s self-titled record has plenty in common with other ‘90s industrial acts. But McMahon is clearly having a lot more fun than many of his contemporaries, and that helps elevate it above the myriad Nine Inch Nails wannabes out there. Prick 的同名专辑与其他 90 年代的工业乐队有很多共同点。但很明显，McMahon 比他的许多同辈玩得更开心，这使得这张专辑超越了市面上无数九寸钉的模仿者。

Prick is available on most major streaming services, including Apple Music, Spotify, Qobuz, Deezer, and YouTube Music. Prick 的音乐现已在大多数主流流媒体平台上线，包括 Apple Music、Spotify、Qobuz、Deezer 和 YouTube Music。