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Music

Pronto Take the Buzz of Power Pop Then Give It A Drop Knee to the Chest

The Melbourne five piece channel the vintage '77 era punk sound but don’t sound like shit.

You can get a fair gauge of where Melbourne’s Pronto are coming from musically with a quick name check of members other musical projects; Gentlemen, Chook Race, Chugga and the Fuckheads, School Damage and Drug Sweat. This is not earnest folk music.

The punky power poppers take the spirit, sentiment and melody of 70s acts such as the Nerves and Protex, the neurosis of Feederz and bizarre/obscure KBD gems then mix in self depreciation, a sentimental and sometimes hostile approach to romance and humour. They are from a time when people actually handed out flyers at shows and punk rock was all about agitation.

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Their debut album When You’re Gone released on Melbourne label Off the Hip is full of tracks that you can listen to while getting drunk and making an arsehole of yourself.

We had a chat to JP Pronto on the eve of the band’s album release and launch at Melbourne’s [Off the Hip records](http://offthehiprecords.blogspot.com.au/ .).

Noisey: “Red Flag” seems one of your punkier tracks. You mix up the KBD style punk with more power pop.
JP: Yeah, the original intention was to start a power pop band. Something in the vain of Milk n’ Cookies or maybe The Quick but it just didn’t work. Like most bands these days I think we lack the aptitude and charisma to pull that stuff off successfully, so we naturally reverted a bit closer back to what we know which is punk rock. Pronto muzak can also be glam, new wave, pogo, bubblegum and oi.

What’s it like having Jack out front as a true front man?
It's good to have someone on stage to worry about entertaining the crowd so everyone else can do their thing. It’s also another person to blame when things go wrong and another pair of hands to carry gear. People seem to respond well to the energy of his performance and subsequently probably think that we are a better band than we actually are.

When you started out Pronto seemed more like a fun side project to some of your other bands. Does the album legitimatise the band as a serious proposition now?
I think your first observation is right but I don’t think either are the case. The album certainly isn’t a very serious proposition, it might legitimise us to other people but I think the jokes on them. Pop records are a commodity but we have a good product so you should probably buy or steal it.

What do you hate most about being in a band?
Most people just want to rip you off.

What's coming up?
There’s a live split cassette with Wet Blankets coming out on Anti-Fade Records soon and a 10” and 7” in the works for 2015.

'When You're Gone' is out Off The Hip Records. Pronto launch the album this Friday at Off the Hip records in Melbourne and play Sunday Oct 12 at the Grace Darling with Red Red Krovvy and Power.