Not too long ago our friend and blog maestro Nathan of Nothin’ Sez Somethin’ posted an obscure Aussie band called….Pray TV. Upon listening to the post I was sold, I needed to hear more and Nathan posted another album, and then a third. With that I’ve got to share this album tonight with anyone who missed it, because it’s a killer. Here’s what Nathan had to say about Pray TV.
In the 1990s there was a mighty rock unit called Pray TV in that land down under. By 1997, however, Pray TV was starting to wane. Then the band's driving force & principal songwriter, guitarist Martin Kennedy declared he wanted to move on from Pray TV. As we know, Martin Kennedy embarked on his All India Radio project. Pray TV singer Aidan Halloran concedes music was never an obsession in his life, & after Pray TV broke up he steered clear of any new musical projects. In 2014 a Pray TV reunion benefit gig was organised for a friend of the band to raise money for cardiac treatment. Sadly, the friend passed away & the gig never happened. But the flame was rekindled. Pray TV reformed for a one-off gig at the Yarra Hotel in January 2015. Kennedy then surprised Halloran by saying he had some songs that would fit on a new Pray TV album.
Outside of Australia, Pray TV had to fight to gain traction. Inside their homeland, they were My Bloody Valentine, the Catherine Wheel, and Joy Division all rolled into one; and then some. Some journalists made the confusing hyperbole that they were what you get when you combine the Church with Hüsker Dü. No matter where you find your comparisons landing, it’s clear that Horizontal Life is the sound of a band in a very good place; in step with one another, slightly out of fashion, eager but not struggling. They can brood and gaze at their shoes (“Couch Surfing”, “Promises Promises”) just as well as they can pop (“Punchdrunk”, “Shifting Sands”). And to think, this all just kind of rolled out of them after a few casual get-togethers.