Prophetic Justice Ministry – Key To World Peace [LP]

Key To World Peace is the third release by Prophetic Justice Ministry – aka Australian musician Sam Perry. An atmospheric cinematic album that belies a striking pop songwriting nous at its core its conductor Prophetic Justice Ministry is at the centre of a new wave of creative rule-bending Melbourne artists. Romantic smudged and hazy Perry emerges from behind a wall of half-light with a clutch of earworms and affecting emotions.Recorded in home studios in Belgrade (Serbia) Christchurch (New Zealand) and Melbourne (Australia) over the course of three years Key To World Peace offers a dichotomy in approach. Shifting on a dime between ambient filmic washes of sound and more traditional song structures the approach feels natural casually acid-tipped and emotionally revealing. While Perrys distinctive keys and production melding with melody is evidenced in Melbourne group Who Cares? as Prophetic Justice Ministry theres a heightened sense of mystery and space being used.Swirling in a psychedelic fog with dry iced chords falling down like melting stars the album pulses with an ominous distorted intro that sculpts air into blocks of sound before Psyop offers a glimpse through the gloom at the artist navigating through crushed shoe-gazing chords singing a consolation into an abandoned building. Side As more abstract tone veers from industrial tracks (T-A) to pastoral impressionistic pieces (Trance) before album highlight Lifes A Party showcases the effortless classic songwriting lurking in Prophetic Justice Ministry. Built on the tension between the upbeat lyrics and suppressed rich delivery the song lopes on an alluring loop with acoustic guitars and Perrys voice walking a tightrope between irony and sincerity. The song blooms into a bright burst of light almost inducing synesthesia in the listener and reminding a little of The Beta Bands most outre and catchy moments.Opening Side B Naked Shines scintillating guitar is punctuated by a sub bass swell that offsets the yearning vocal performance. With palpable sensitivity the song is shepherded into short atmospheric passages before Love Drums direct delivery: Perrys vocal and guitar dancing over a hint of distortion feels like Syd Barrett at his most casually brilliant. Carrying on the tradition of a single cover on every Prophetic Justice Ministry release here Lana Del Reys Mariners Apartment Complex is given a stripped back but faithful treatment. With a sound that feels like a hushed Chris Isaak classic its testament to Perrys own compositions that the cover doesnt outshine the rest of the album. Album closer and single Spirit House Party combines a classic chord progression with Perrys double-tracked vocal into a murky but brilliantly catchy chorus. While nowhere near as lush in its production theres something in the atmosphere of Prophetic Justice Ministrys vocal sitting in the mix just so that reminds us of The Electric Prunes Holy Are You-era work with David Axelrod.Key To World Peace flits between displaying a spectrum of blurred emotional resonance in its instrumental passages and vulnerability in the shape of raw melodic songwriting. With his first release outside of Australia and vinyl debut Sam Perrys Prophetic Justice Ministry is a beguiling dance in and out shadows.1. Prelude To World Peace2. Psyop3. T-A4. Trance 1025. Lifes A Party6. Naked Shine7. Aurora Drone Cam8. Lake Of Ice9. Love Drum 10. Mariner’s Apartment Complex11. Spirit House Party