The Probies are here to paint the town red with their new single “Impotent and Alone,” from the album of the same name. The band doesn’t beg for your attention as much as it demands you give it to them, letting loose a storm of emotion and unfiltered teen angst.
The song’s opening riff is a quick swirl that immediately evokes the white-knuckle fuzz of early Aughts punk, but with a sharp new bite. The instrumentation, powered by Lino V. Proby’s unrelenting lead guitar, anchored by Elroy J. Proby’s bass, at once seems to teeter out of control, but inevitably corrects itself, careening off an ill-advised path. Gritty, muscular rhythm guitar, Lou J. Proby, and pounding drums, Parker L. Proby form an aggressive backbone that makes the chaos of N to X feel tense, while keyboards by Lucy S. Proby add a welcome extra dimension here and there on all but one track, they soften things just enough without ever blunting the uneasiness on display.
Touching everywhere that has become sore, frontman David H. Proby reaches down past fatigue and soul weariness to lift the untouchable reach of its eyes with such vocal delivery, vocals that crack and strain under molten conviction from a central character besieged by betrayal and confusion. Lines such as the chant-like droning of this song’s pre-chorus, with disillusionment and irony, embodying the song’s cynical nihilism. It’s messy, it’s human, and it’s absorbing.
“Impotent and Alone” is an experience. But the Probies show they’re unafraid to grapple with uncomfortable emotions and turn them into thrilling and striking music. As the debut by a band formed in 2024 in the middle of Seattle, it stakes out a brash, aggressive claim in contemporary alt-rock. The Probies have arrived, and you’ll remember them.