The Prids' "Do I Look Like I'm in Love?" Is a Brazen Throwback Masterpiece

With guitar tones ripped from the C86 compilation and shamelessly lovelorn lyrics, it’s no wonder the Prids have been likened to 1980s gloom-pop titans the Cure and the Smiths.

By Cris Lankenau

[GLOOM FUZZ] If you're anything like me, any band boasting an association with Built to Spill warrants a good, hard listen. As such, you're probably predisposed to love the Prids' Do I Look Like I'm in Love? It helps that most songs feature a drum kit drenched in sopping wet reverb and roomy, delicate keyboards playing simplistic little melody lines, conjuring the memory of a time when finding a new band to adore involved mapping the collaborations and social trajectories of ones you already loved. With guitar tones ripped from the C86 compilation and shamelessly lovelorn lyrics, it's no wonder the Prids have been likened to 1980s gloom-pop titans the Cure and the Smiths. Lead single "Elizabeth Ann" is a perfect pop gem four decades tardy, evoking an '85 Marty McFly fantasy and a blissfully garish dance on the illuminated floor of some smoky nightclub. Most songs follow its hook-filled example, and even the slow lulls of ambient numbers are spread out in well-timed repose. Overall, it's a brazen, throwback masterpiece so vibrant and catchy that you don't even need to factor in the band's association to Doug Martsch to absolutely love them.

Related: "Through disease, disaster and disappointment, the Prids reach 20 years."

SEE IT: The Prids play Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., with Daydream Machine and the Secret Light, on Friday, Feb. 3. 9 pm. $8 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.

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