'Key To World Peace' is the third release by Prophetic Justice Ministry - aka Australian musician Sam Perry. An atmospheric, cinematic album that belies a striking pop songwriting nous at its core, its conductor Prophetic Justice Ministry is at the centre of a new wave of creative, rule-bending Melbourne artists. Romantic, smudged and hazy, Perry emerges from behind a wall of half-light with a clutch of earworms and affecting emotions.
Recorded in home studios in Belgrade (Serbia), Christchurch (New Zealand) and Melbourne (Australia) over the course of three years, 'Key To World Peace' offers a dichotomy in approach. Shifting on a dime between ambient, filmic washes of sound and more traditional song structures, the approach feels natural, casually acid-tipped and emotionally revealing. While Perry’s distinctive keys and production melding with melody is evidenced in Melbourne group Who Cares?, as Prophetic Justice Ministry there’s a heightened sense of mystery and space being used.
Swirling in a psychedelic fog with dry iced chords falling down like melting stars, the album pulses with an ominous, distorted intro that sculpts air into blocks of sound before 'Psyop' offers a glimpse through the gloom at the artist navigating through crushed, shoe-gazing chords, singing a consolation into an abandoned building. Side A’s more abstract tone veers from industrial tracks ('T-A') to pastoral, impressionistic pieces ('Trance') before album highlight 'Life’s A Party' showcases the effortless, classic songwriting lurking in Prophetic Justice Ministry. Built on the tension between the upbeat lyrics and suppressed, rich delivery, the song lopes on an alluring loop with acoustic guitars and Perry’s voice walking a tightrope between irony and sincerity. The song blooms into a bright burst of light, almost inducing synesthesia in the listener and reminding a little of The Beta Band’s most outre and catchy moments.
Opening Side B, 'Naked Shine’s scintillating guitar is punctuated by a sub bass swell that offsets the yearning vocal performance. With palpable sensitivity the song is shepherded into short, atmospheric passages before 'Love Drum’s direct delivery: Perry’s vocal and guitar, dancing over a hint of distortion feels like Syd Barrett at his most casually brilliant. Carrying on the tradition of a single cover on every Prophetic Justice Ministry release, here Lana Del Rey’s 'Mariner’s Apartment Complex' is given a stripped back but faithful treatment. With a sound that feels like a hushed, Chris Isaak classic it’s testament to Perry’s own compositions that the cover doesn’t outshine the rest of the album. Album closer and single 'Spirit House Party' combines a classic chord progression with Perry’s double-tracked vocal into a murky but brilliantly catchy chorus. While nowhere near as lush in its production, there’s something in the atmosphere of Prophetic Justice Ministry’s vocal sitting in the mix just so that reminds us of The Electric Prunes’ 'Holy Are You'-era work with David Axelrod.
'Key To World Peace' flits between displaying a spectrum of blurred emotional resonance in its instrumental passages and vulnerability in the shape of raw, melodic songwriting. With his first release outside of Australia and vinyl debut, Sam Perry’s Prophetic Justice Ministry is a beguiling dance in and out shadows.
Recorded in home studios in Belgrade (Serbia), Christchurch (New Zealand) and Melbourne (Australia) over the course of three years, 'Key To World Peace' offers a dichotomy in approach. Shifting on a dime between ambient, filmic washes of sound and more traditional song structures, the approach feels natural, casually acid-tipped and emotionally revealing. While Perry’s distinctive keys and production melding with melody is evidenced in Melbourne group Who Cares?, as Prophetic Justice Ministry there’s a heightened sense of mystery and space being used.
Swirling in a psychedelic fog with dry iced chords falling down like melting stars, the album pulses with an ominous, distorted intro that sculpts air into blocks of sound before 'Psyop' offers a glimpse through the gloom at the artist navigating through crushed, shoe-gazing chords, singing a consolation into an abandoned building. Side A’s more abstract tone veers from industrial tracks ('T-A') to pastoral, impressionistic pieces ('Trance') before album highlight 'Life’s A Party' showcases the effortless, classic songwriting lurking in Prophetic Justice Ministry. Built on the tension between the upbeat lyrics and suppressed, rich delivery, the song lopes on an alluring loop with acoustic guitars and Perry’s voice walking a tightrope between irony and sincerity. The song blooms into a bright burst of light, almost inducing synesthesia in the listener and reminding a little of The Beta Band’s most outre and catchy moments.
Opening Side B, 'Naked Shine’s scintillating guitar is punctuated by a sub bass swell that offsets the yearning vocal performance. With palpable sensitivity the song is shepherded into short, atmospheric passages before 'Love Drum’s direct delivery: Perry’s vocal and guitar, dancing over a hint of distortion feels like Syd Barrett at his most casually brilliant. Carrying on the tradition of a single cover on every Prophetic Justice Ministry release, here Lana Del Rey’s 'Mariner’s Apartment Complex' is given a stripped back but faithful treatment. With a sound that feels like a hushed, Chris Isaak classic it’s testament to Perry’s own compositions that the cover doesn’t outshine the rest of the album. Album closer and single 'Spirit House Party' combines a classic chord progression with Perry’s double-tracked vocal into a murky but brilliantly catchy chorus. While nowhere near as lush in its production, there’s something in the atmosphere of Prophetic Justice Ministry’s vocal sitting in the mix just so that reminds us of The Electric Prunes’ 'Holy Are You'-era work with David Axelrod.
'Key To World Peace' flits between displaying a spectrum of blurred emotional resonance in its instrumental passages and vulnerability in the shape of raw, melodic songwriting. With his first release outside of Australia and vinyl debut, Sam Perry’s Prophetic Justice Ministry is a beguiling dance in and out shadows.
TRACK LISTING
1. Prelude To World Peace
2. Psyop
3. T-A
4. Trance 102
5. Life’s A Party
6. Naked Shine
7. Aurora Drone Cam
8. Lake Of Ice
9. Love Drum
10. Mariner's Apartment Complex
11. Spirit House Party
