Album review: ‘A’ – PRANG

Let’s be frank: if you were a fan of ‘A’ in their pomp, in the early 2000s when their single Nothing was ubiquitous and they toured with the biggest bands of the day, then you’ll be of an age when a sudden sneeze can cause prolonged injury.

The chance, then, to reconnect with the Lowestoft lot more than 20 years after their last album, 2005’s Teen Dance Ordinance, is a welcome one, even if the lens through which it views middle age is sometimes uncomfortably unglamourous. It would be a shame, however, if PRANG wasn’t discovered by a newer audience too, as there’s much to enjoy and learn from.

If Jason Perry was a more cynical operator, he might have called in some favours for the many bands he’s worked with as a producer over the years (including Don Broco, Trash Boat, The Molotovs, McFly) and made a fifth album supplemented by guest star wattage. Instead, as he explained to K! recently, PRANG’s genesis was less pressured, born from boozy barbecues in their native Suffolk. That sense of informality and looseness clings to PRANG like the smell of charred meat on clothing, giving it a knockabout quality that belies some serious moments.

Those going in expecting tunes like Nothing and Starbucks from 2002’s Hi-Fi Serious are barking up the wrong tree. Which might be a good thing, as despite A’s success, musically, they were never edgy enough to be alt.rock nor exuberant enough to be pop-punk. Here, thankfully, they’ve found a sound that suits them better, as world-weary rock warriors with big choruses still intact, and arrangements better suited to Jason’s voice, an unusual instrument pitched somewhere between Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell and Filter’s Richard Patrick.

As a lesson in growing older as a band, and not shying away from it in your music, PRANG should be studied. Not least because it’s proof that craving validation (Bring On The Likes) and standing against hatred and bigotry (Comment Leaver) have no age limit. Shit Summer, meanwhile, is a reminder that life is no picnic for any of us, thanks to references to Jason’s depression and his twin brother/bandmate Adam’s cancer. What’s more, it showcases maturing as a songwriter, as for all the anger and torment displayed by musicians in their twenties, it’s hard to imagine them being as vulnerable, lyrically, as Jason is here.

PRANG works because it’s less interested in penning bangers than reflecting who the men in ’A’ are in 2026, even if that occasionally means the music is less effective than the words. Nevertheless, at a time of divisional lines drawn in various ways, it’s great to have a record that reminds us that, age wise and in every other way, there is more that unites us than divides us.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: The Wildhearts, Feeder, Ash

PRANG is out now via Cooking Vinyl