The Primes

Not to be confused with the Detroit doo wop group that grew up into the Temptations, this Primes is an electroclash duo from Vancouver, British Columbia. Their self-titled debut album is a harsh, noisy blend of processed vocals, overdriven and fuzzy guitar lines, electronic breakbeats, and heavy Suicide-like synths. There are occasional glimpses of a certain pop sensibility on songs like the sneering, punky "Whatever It Takes" and the hyper-stylized, almost Sparks-like "Make It Easier," and the snide new wave singsong of "Loving the Stranger" sounds a lot like very early Devo, but for all its rough-edged charms, The Primes often feels slightly underbaked. For example, the closing "Bad Mouths" is an instrumental, but it sounds not like it was composed as such, but like the duo ran out of studio time before they were able to add the vocals. There's much to like on The Primes, but they don't exactly make it easy for listeners.