Albuquerque quartet Prism B!tch recall an explosive melodic sound that growls with a Nirvana-styled irritated kick and a white noise whirl of guitar and drums. Not since The Breeders melted ears with “Cannonball” has there been such a potent three-quarters female rock band. Prism B!tch will be making a bold statement guaranteed to make many a playlist this coming year via their upcoming independent full-length debut. The band is composed of Lauren Poole [bass, vocals], Lilah Rose [keys, guitar, vocals], Chris Walsh [guitar], and Teresa Cruces [drums, vocals.
“We’re an aggressively friendly band,” says Cruces. “We cover a spectrum of topics. The music can be serious and existential or super fun—just like real life.”
“When you listen to us, maybe you feel like we visited you at home, listened to what you had to say, and even helped you clean up,” adds Poole.
Poole and Walsh first met as members of a small theatre company, where they dreamed up a plan for a performance art project in the guise of a band. In 2015, they crossed paths with recent New Mexico transplant Lilah before rounding up Teresa. Their initial project idea soon morphed into an actual band, which they named Prism B!tch. The group wanted to take “bitch” back and hold that word with pride.
“When Lauren asked me to be a part of this performance art project, we wanted to make sure the songs were really good, which pushed us to focus more on the songwriting than the actual story,” explains Walsh “This led to the creation of our band more so than a theatre project.”
Prism B!tch made their introduction with 2017’s The Getaway EP before unleashing the self-titled Prism Bitch EP a year later. Along the way, they’ve amassed over 100K cumulative streams, won three Weekly Alibi “Best of Burque” Music Awards, and ignited iconic stages, including The Whisky A Go-Go, The Roxy, and Webster Hall. Not to mention, the quartet has also toured up and down both coasts in support of indie rock mainstays Built To Spill. Inspired by everyone from The Pixies to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Prism B!tch has crystallized an unpredictable and undeniable signature sound on Perla.
Working with producer Toshi Kasai [Foo Fighters, The Melvins], each band member’s personality shines on tape with the pop punk from Rose, the hair band vibes from Cruces, and the bluesy riffs from Walsh.
After touring with Built To Spill, they welcomed frontman Doug Martsch for a “dreamy guest solo” on “Starlight.” Ruminating on the fragility of existence in the wake of Lilah losing her dad, ethereal vocals blast off over lush instrumentation, a bold drumbeat, and a soaring solo.
Glide is proud to premiere Prism B!tch’s video/song for “One Shot” (below) directed by Rebekah Wiggins and filmed near the band’s Albuquerque homebase. The music video serves as their punk love letter to their Southwest upbringing and love for cinema and theater. Visuals aside, the quartet rings in lo-fi experimentation, carefully crafted hooks, and crunchy guitar rock that should appeal to both music nerds and passerby’s.
“What once started out as an acoustic voice memo a couple years ago has morphed into a heavy cathartic ballad. As we finessed the song on the road, it quickly became a popular set closer with a wall of sound build-up and dramatic abrupt stop. This song is about the perspective of being a female musician and being taken seriously. There was a measure of uncertainty surrounding our band as we had just left our label and were reestablishing ourselves as an autonomous collective. With an exciting tour looming at the time, we wanted to come out swinging with a confident personal statement. The story follows a humble family trying to avenge the death of their father by striking out into a dark world. It’s the hero’s journey and a reimagining of the myth of the Old West as we’d like to see it,” says the band.
