Review Summary: Slowed some music down and called myself an artist.
Of all the vaporwave acts out there, it makes sense that Saint Pepsi would be one of the first to make their commercial debut. Not only was 2013’s
Hit Vibes one of the most popular albums to come out of the microgenre, but it was also one of the most fun. No anti-capitalist undertones or rather masculine-sounding Diana Ross samples telling you “it’s all in your head”: just some obscure soul samples transformed into funky nu-disco jams with a lo-fi twist. Just a little tweaking and that sound could easily translate into a record everyone can enjoy. Luckily, Saint Pepsi, now known as Skylar Spence, was able to do more than just tweak it.
If the sound of Hit Vibes was ever going to translate to a commercial audience, there was going to be the inevitable compromise. Spence deals with this change wonderfully here on
Prom King: he keeps his groovy, nostalgic roots intact while working with a cleaner, pop-oriented sound and more conventional song structures for some of the tracks. Songs like “Can’t You See” and “I Can't Be Your Superman” are great examples of this change of sound, as well as just being some incredibly catchy and danceable Nu-Disco songs. The shimmering synths and guitars on these poppier tracks, while there may be slight hint of cheese emanating from them, also give off a sense of infectious glee. The other side of the coin, which is just as fun as the first side, sees Spence going back to his Future Funk roots in the form of instrumentals which fill in the spots between vocal tracks. “Ridiculous!” and “Bounce Is Back” are instrumental highlights here, the former bringing some house influence and the latter being so deliciously disco that it hurts. “Cash Wednesday” especially calls back to Spence’s previous project: the lo-fi sound, the sample-driven grooves, and just the nostalgia-tinged feel to it all combine to form a track that would fit perfectly on
Hit Vibes. The record closes perfectly with "Fiona Coyne", one of the best tracks Spence has put either of his names to. Bright guitars, chipper synths, and cheerful synthetic horns work wonderfully with a show-stopping chorus to end the album off with the bang of multi-colored fireworks. All in all,
Prom King is exactly what its title suggest: the life of the party.
