Album Review: Ambivalence by The Prozacs

The Prozacs are a pop punk band from Westfield, Massachusetts. Having formed in 2001, the band have consistently released new material since then. On June 11th, The Prozacs released their fifth full length album on Outloud! Records. Titled Ambivalence, here we have 11 songs of Ramonescore pop punk goodness.

Ambivalence begins with Rocking Out. Wasting no time in getting started, the song certainly has you "rocking out" immediately. (I hate myself for making that joke more than you hate me for making that joke). The rolling drumbeat along with lead singer Jay Prozacs’ vocals had me singing along quickly. Interestingly, the music is played at a fast pace but Jay's vocals ensure that the song never loses control. Rocking Out is a track about friendship and how you eventually end up back with the pals that you started out with. Outta My Face sees a much angrier side of The Prozacs as they blast through a song about being fed up of people trying to drag you down. It's a big middle finger salute to those folk in your life that make it so much harder. As the track goes on, the intensity and anger seems to grow and grow. This then made me quite riled up and wanting to get angry with The Prozacs. The third track is named Party's Over and shows more of a traditional 90s Lookout Records pop punk style. The easy comparison is The Queers, with Jay's vocal seemingly at a higher pitch and a bit of a surf rock vibe coming in at times. On my first listen of the song, I assumed that the meaning behind the song is as simple as going to a party and then wanting to go home but, the more I thought about it, I think it's about feeling like you've outgrown something as you've aged and matured.

The Ripper is up next. This is a fast song about the notorious East London serial killer Jack The Ripper. Interesting that a band from Massachusetts would pick such a subject for a song but it is a fascinating case. The way The Prozacs play the song does add a bit of humour to the topic but it also serves as a bit of a history lesson, something I didn't expect to be saying when I started reviewing Ambivalence. The fifth track on the album is titled Out Of Time. It's a short plodder of a song that kind of feels like it could be a theme tune for a comedy sci-fi show. It's pretty simple lyrically and you'll be singing along in no time. It's the guitar work that really stands out throughout. Wishing & Waiting's intro quickly gives you the sense that the song is more grown up and mature. These might be very obscure references but the song has me thinking of a mix of Darlington and The McRackins and I love that. Wishing & Waiting is a big highlight on the album. It's about wanting to make the most of your time with somebody you love and not being ground down by real life responsibilities. The longer than normal length of the track allows The Prozacs to play around with tempo and melody changes that help the song hit some highs and lows as well as a great build section in the middle. Come Out Swinging sounds exactly how you would expect a song with that title to sound. It's a bit brash, it's in your face and it's impactful. The drums are really the driving force throughout the song, much like they are throughout the entire album. This is drummer Jimmy Craig's first album with The Prozacs and he has done a tremendous job.

On my first listen of Ambivalence track eight, Listen, Learn & Dance, was the song that really stood out. So much so that I asked Jay if we could use it on our fifth birthday charity compilation album. He kindly agreed and you can buy that comp here. Starting out with a simple singing section of "you gotta dance for the moment, dance for the love, in a world that needs help, in a world that was better with you, we miss you" really invites you to get involved. Soon enough, the tempo is upped and The Prozacs really get you shaking what your mother gave you. The song is a tribute to a fallen friend that encourages you to have as much as possible fun in their memory. Feeling So is a song about feeling alone and the way that affects your mental health. I really enjoyed how the first half of the song is a big chugga chugga (technical music journalist term) but during the second half the track expands and the band get a bit looser. The penultimate track is named Live Like It's New. This is more of an uplifting song about trying to experience everything you can, even if it seems impossible. The simple chorus of "live like it's new" repeating will do a great job to inspire even the most negative of people. This is a powerful and cathartic song that really put a smile on my face. Positivity rules! Last up is Lost In The Waves. Beginning with some superb rolling drums and some guitar work that helps make the song feel massive, the first taste of vocals we get are some lovely whoa-oh harmonies between Jay and Samantha Dalbec (who does a great job with back-ups throughout Ambivalence). The actual words for the song don't actually come in until way into the second half of the song and it's only the lyrics "I don't want to be lost in these waves, without you" repeating over and over to end the song. I thought this was absolutely incredible and the entire song is another highlight of the album. It's so simple it's genius. What a fantastic way to finish things.

I'm a huge lover of this style of pop punk and I love that there are still bands out there like The Prozacs keeping the genre alive. These songs offer a bit of everything topic-wise and the overall sound of the album does a very good job of showing some variety without straying far from the Ramonescore sound. Well done The Prozacs, perhaps your best album to date.

Stream and download Ambivalence here: https://theprozacs.bandcamp.com

Like The Prozacs here: https://www.facebook.com/TheProzacs

This review was written by Colin Clark.