Led by wild-card lyricist and singer Joe Casey, Protomartyr are a post-punk quartet who deliver burly but intelligent music playing heavily on instrumental dynamics and blunt physical impact. Breaking out of the Midwest music scene to attract an international following, their performances spun free-associative beat-inspired poetry over the churning report of the musicians, giving their songs a streetwise literacy matching the strength of the instrumentalists. After making a strong local impression with their 2012 debut No Passion All Technique, word about Protomartyr spread when they signed with the Sub Pop-distributed Hardly Art label. Following the release of their third album, 2015's The Agent Intellect, the band began receiving enthusiastic press in North America and Europe, leading to them signing with Domino for 2017's outstanding Relatives in Descent. After sitting out the COVID-19 lockdown and struggling with difficult life events, the group came back with 2023's Formal Growth in the Desert.