Prophets & Kings

Through the use of crunked-out killer bass lines, pan-pipe synths and an incredible command of electronic atmospheres, this Chattanooga, Tenn. collective is breaking boundaries on their latest LP. (Album was streamed in entirety for the week of it's release.) - spinner.com

This is one track that’s difficult to describe. ‘Die to Rest’ is like some shape-shifting creature that can’t decide on what it wants to be, and yet it’s the element of surprise which makes it addictive. Within these five minutes you will hear everything, from washes of ambient noise, synthpop, and the sound of waves crashing against a shore … and yet I still haven’t touched upon about how brilliant this track is. Your mind will expand and explode at the same time. It’s fresh and and original, and if Prophets & Kings have more songs like this up their sleeves then I’m certain that the indie world is up for a good shaking! You can listen to this everything and the kitchen sink masterpiece down below – what’s more, its available as a free download! - Stagedive Malta

This gang of flat-out phreeks hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee, a place I called home for over ten years, and they aren’t afraid to bring the crunk or the noize. Sitting two hours north of Atlanta and Athens, Chattanooga is at a decided disadvantage in terms of being able to keep her gifted children in-house. In the 90s anyone in the hip-hop community that had any talent, and/or ambition, would hightail it to Hotlanta as fast as you can say I-75 South. And the same could also be said for the electronic music community and the general rock and roll scene. If people didn’t go to Atlanta they went to Nashville, Knoxville or Birmingham, because that’s where the action was, of course. P&K have already vaulted themselves to a higher plane of recognition and they’re being mentioned in the same breath as Dan Deacon and Yeasayer, and, dare I say, they actually surpass both of those slightly overblown/overrated examples. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Bring it on. These guys are out of their musical minds and they have the chops to get away with it all. At first, the vibe is a moderately pissed-off Frankie Goes To Hollywood. “Bear Milk,” wrestles with a homo-erotic motif that extends from the song titles to the shirtless band photos. The vocals are excellent and lead the charge on a very solid bunch of songs that are all over the map stylistically speaking. They can be raw and rambunctious, loud and brash, slick and sleazy, but they maintain a consistent sense of clattering melody and counterpoint, and they have a confident sense of presentation. They’re OMD stoned and in overdrive. They’re an electro-disco Black Lips. They throw in lots of bits in the mix and one can get lost in the sea of sounds, sticky beats, staticky notes and quirky keyboard tones, but you can still dance to it. “Eunuch” is raw electro-distorto-rock not unlike Xiu Xiu, and “First Taste” is a slick dance-pop thing that goes slightly off the rails and still hits home plate. Everything they try they pull off with some discomfited aplomb. The shit just works. Ain’t nothing to be fixed here. This is an impressive effort, and this album will end up on a few year-end “best of” lists if enough people hear it. They already have plans to collaborate with several other artists, so bigger things may be on the horizon. Are they a creation of some mad Svengali pulling strings from behind the curtain? Did they just pull this album out of thin air? Time will tell. And so will the next record. Someone, somewhere, should sign them to their label now, before they burn themselves out and the world never gets to hear them. That would be a shame. - Impose Magazine

I got my first taste of Prophets & Kings a few months ago when I heard the track “First Taste” and subsequently put it on at least three different mix CDs that I listened to in my truck on my way to (and often from) work each day. Their first full-length release displays the band’s rare and addictive ability to organically toss emotion and melody against a jagged wall of electronica and make it stick. - Nooga.com

The self-titled, self-released debut album from Prophets & Kings (prophetsandkings.net) is packed with driving, fist-pumping, sonically dense electro with a bevy of distorted beats and roughed-up notes and samples; the approach is the successor of industrial and electroclash styles, substituting darkness with a buoyant mood that’s propulsive. Featuring the anthemic vocals of Stratton Tingle, guitarist and keyboard player Jon-Michael Brown, drummer Eric Lisica and bassist Travis Ringstaff, the album carries an urgent, dance-oriented manner, punctuated with complicated tracks like “Eunuch” which constantly transforms itself, from lo-fi strumming to synth-string soundtracks with blasts of static. “Misery Haunts” begins with relaxed, wind-swept vocals before shifting into electronic mode, amid bloops and artificial drumbeat fuzz. It’s a stimulating and restless album of pure kinetic energy. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Chattanooga quartet Prophets & Kings have just released their self-titled debut album, and we’ve got a couple of tracks from it for you. From the sound of ‘First Taste’ and ‘Die to Rest’, the band makes a form of twisted mutant electro pop, but don’t just take our word for it – listen to the tracks here: ‘First Taste’; ‘Die to Rest’ - Bowlegs Music

So, today as I’m writing about this new Okkervil River music video the same grainy-ness reminded me of the Prophet & King’s video for “Hoary Hurrah” that I wrote about over at Magnet. Which in turn, reminded me about how I wanted to share their other song, “Bear Milk” with you guys. It’s something perfectly crunchy and noisy for your Monday.

Daryl and I had a blast covering the Das Racist concert and of course everyone involved in the Relax Tour killed it. Keep your eyes on the blog for some original productions from the night, the goods will be released soon.

By the way, P&K sell panties..?
- What's Protocol?

Prophets & Kings‘ “Hoary Hurrah” starts with elusive-yet-disturbing vocals over oddly edited, ’90s-era home-video footage. It flashes back and forth in time, hitting the storyline hard with joyous, personal moments. The song, off the band’s self-titled, self-released debut, breaks wide open with screaming guitars and shots of an upset child. “Hoary Hurrah” is an incredibly raw, driving track that deserves repeated listening, and the band’s music is diverse and can switch genres multiple times during a single song, showcasing each member’s abilities and tastes. Something’s brewing down in Chattanooga. - Magnet Magazine

Self-proclaimed “hellions performing a balancing act between danceable pop and experimental electro,” the Chattanooga, Tenn. band has concocted an album that sure isn’t the quiet type who meekly sits at the dark corner of the room waiting to be noticed. In fact, what the self-titled record seems to be striving for is to be the life of the party.

Its peculiar mash-up of genres will have the listener questioning, “Do I want to violently dance or close my eyes and calmly sway to the music?” Although many bands have already done and are still doing genre mash-ups to create uniquely beautiful music – the supergroup the Sound of Animals Fighting, for instance – what Prophets & Kings has to offer still manages to sound somewhat new and fresh.

Listening to the album is like taking a journey into a galactic, enchanted forest. To start with, the six minute first track “Bear Milk” seduces the listener with its hypnotic rhythm and beats with a punch of screaming vocals at the very end. Around the middle of the journey is “First Taste,” a danceable track worthy of the kind of sweat-inducing moves that liberate one from acceptable social etiquettes of normality. A few minutes more of this and the trip ends with “Die to Rest,” a fittingly more subdued but nonetheless melodic coda that concludes the experimental album.

Although the band’s latest effort isn’t perfect (the song “A Freshiest” for instance isn’t particularly exceptional with its repetitive chanting), Prophets & Kings will surely find its way into the hearts of indie music lovers who are always on the lookout for the next potential best thing.

Grade: B+



Prophets & Kings is currently available.

Article posted on 8/10/2011 - Campus Circle

listen up! ‘Prophets & Kings’
By MORGAN JOHNSON on August 3, 2011

Formerly known as Antebellum, the musical style of Prophets & Kings can be considered an oxymoron.

At first glance, the self-described “Chattanooga hellions” gracing the cover of the album seem as intimidating as its idolatry of Mickey Mouse.

Bare-chested and pasty, one wonders if “hellions” is an accurate description to use.

The band’s intention to combine contrasting Disney-style pop with Atlanta-bred crunk however, ultimately succeeds.

Each track is proudly different from the first, leaving the album as a whole surprisingly just as “danceable, experimental, [and] electro-bash,” as they claim.

The first track, “Bear Milk,” is enticingly upbeat. The band favorably manages to spin familiar Disney themes in an eager, new direction that leaves the listener craving more.

Featuring guitar, bass and drums, the original songs have an unspecific quality that relates to all audiences.

The album’s minor setbacks are, “Itsy Bitsey Beastie,” and “A Freshiest.”

The two monotonous songs detract from the album enough to make the listener question whether or not the band has actual talent, or if Disney magic was created by mere happenstance.

Lead vocalists Stratton Tingle and Jon-Michael lower the potential of the album in certain instances.

With little expression in the band’s lyrics and too much repetition in select songs, the vocals lack the same variety offered by the instrumentation.

The album finale ends purely with “Die to Rest,” a relaxed melody with a highly exuberant middle.

The teeth-bearing mouth graphically featured on the CD, as well as frequent comparisons to Animal Collective, suggest unrivaled intensity.
But do not fret — Prophets & Kings are more soft-core than they would have you believe.

A loose definition of hellions does indeed suit the band, in the sense that it has combined two polar opposites of music in a rowdy manner.

But portraying itself as rebelious with an infatuation to cartoons does not fit the bill.

One thing is for sure — the band’s style is an acquired taste.
- Red & Black

Photo, with caption: "Prophets and Kings perform at Rhythm and Brews during the Road To Nightfall competition." - Nooga.com

...Then there's Prophets & Kings. If the name weren't enough to make you bow down in submission, their music will. While the band hasn't played any shows yet (apparently, they're "oiling up [their] magnificent marketing machine" before their Chattanooga debut/ USB drive release), a few of their songs are available for listen on Facebook and Myspace. If the rest of their ten songs hit as hard as the three they have online, Prophets & Kings will soon reign supreme. - Brewer Media / Chattanooga Pulse

Every once in a while there comes a band that beautifully meshes several different genres of music seamlessly, creating boundary-pushing sounds that sound like ear candy. Luckily, on February 19, you will get to experience three of these bands at the Native Tongues local music showcase at JJ’s Bohemia.
A frequent motif in the music of Chattanooga’s scene is bands that use samples in their music. This kind of sampling can happen through a laptop, a keyboard, a sample pad and various other tools. The musician will use the sampling instrument to manipulate and loop a piece of music or sound to help complement their live instruments. This new mode of music of music has various subgenres that cannot be covered in one article, but Chattanooga has been supporting this new marriage of sound that beautifully melts into a genre I like to call “indie beats”.
The upcoming edition of Native Tongues is a celebration for Prophets and Kings’ album release and features local guests Riot Punch and Dolphin Mouth. What makes this particular album release special is the fact that the band is producing the album on custom USB sticks in the shape of the band’s logo. The USB stick will feature high-quality MP3 files and a music video that you can transfer anywhere and reuse for any purpose.
Prophets and Kings is guitarist/keyboardist John Michael Brown, vocalist Stratton Tingle, bassist Travis Ringstaff, and drummer Eric Lisica. They describe themselves as “electronic rock and electro bash music,” taking various elements from Johnny Hallyday to Depeche Mode to Crystal Castles. What makes this band unique is that they plug all their instruments up to a computer rack called, “The Motherboard”, which manipulates all their samples live.
The band encourages fans to stream their album in its entirety at the Prophets and Kings’ Facebook page. Standout tracks include “Bear Milk” and “First Taste.” The live performances are very energetic, to say the least, as John Michael describes it, “We were playing a show outside of Chicago in a farm and the audience was in heavy anticipation for the show. Within 20 minutes of us playing, the crowd got so energetic that they literally broke parts of the dance floor from bouncing up and down.”

...JJ’s has once again put together a stellar showcase by combining three contrasting music acts with one similarity: sample-based manipulation. Dolphin Mouth will send you into a trance with his ambient and trippy sounds, while Riot Punch lifts the energy up with their danceable blends of collage rock. Then Prophets and Kings will have the floors shaking with their high-energy electro-rock performance. Watch this showcase unfold this Saturday to get a glimpse into the Chattanooga indie beat scene. - Brewer Media / Chattanooga Pulse

Prophets & Kings were highlighted last month in the Native Tongues showcase. Hearing the recordings was one thing, but seeing them live completely convinced me that this band is solid. Prophets & Kings bring so much energy in their sample-based noise rock that you cannot help but yell and scream with lead singer Stratton Tingle's captivating cheers. - Brewer Media / Chattanooga Pulse