The Boy Modern is young. Awkward and shy. Just like Benjamin Prosser, the man behind the music. The self titled EP was recorded over the summer of 2009 at Blackwatch Studio in Norman, Oklahoma. Chad Copelin, who produced the record, joined forces with Prosser to create the soundscape for what prove to be both gut wrenching but hope filled songs. All five tracks on the CD wrestle with being human: broken relationships, addiction, infidelity, death and the inescapable desire to run far, far away from anything that causes pain. None of the songs, however, take pleasure in that pain, nor do they dwell on it. So often in music these days artists revel in their darkness. Prosser only seeks to purge himself of it.
Just like there is no simple way to be human, there is no simple way to tuck The Boy Modern into a tidy genre. "Someone once asked me what my music sounded like," Prosser says. "'Classic cars and supermodels,' I replied, 'sexy and timeless.'" It is Prosser's hope to create songs that inspire emotion, but still deliver sonically. "The pay off isn't only in the content of the song, in the message," says Benjamin. "Content is important, but so is a hook, and a beat that you can get down to. I don't care how lyrically beautiful a song is, if it isn't fun to listen to, if it doesn't sound good, then you've wasted great lyrics. Its like drinking a priceless bottle of wine with your mom's meatloaf." The Boy Modern is pop inspired by grunge, 80s new wave, U2, indy rock and classical music. "My dad is a classically trained violinist," Prosser says, between drags of the ever present cigarette between his fingers. "My first memory of connecting to a melody was listening to him play his warm ups before he practiced. And my first concert was seeing a Mozart symphony. I'm not sure where those influences show themselves," he adds, "but I'm sure they're in there somewhere."
The Boy Modern might not be easy to classify, but it's easy to sucked into. The songs are seductive, dangerous and never fail to get stuck in your head.
World, meet The Boy Modern.
