We should consider ourselves lucky to call Prism Tats "local", however briefly. Though Garett van der Spek hails from Durban, South Africa, he conceived this solo project after moving to Seattle. The Emerald City is in fact where he also formed the duo Koko and the Sweetmeats with his then sweetheart and now wife, Laura, and was an early member of Campfire OK. He's since escaped to LA, but the DIY spirit of the Northwest seems to linger in Prism Tats' songs. Following a 7" of self-recorded and self-performed songs he developed from his Koko days and released on local label Whooping Crane Records, van der Spek connected with producer Chris Woodhouse (Ty Segall, Wild Flag, !!!) to flesh out his sound. The first taste of his forthcoming full-length, self-titled debut, to be released this Spring through Anti-, is "Pacifist Masochist", the video for which we're excited to premiere right here, right now.
Filmed and produced locally, the video accompanies the song's hook-filled garage-rock-meets-power-pop vibe with an action packed, Thelma & Louise-didn't-go-far-enough narrative of two young women turning gender stereotypes on their heads as they give a bunch of men they pick up a taste of their own medicine. The tale is dark, raw and gritty, but also funny, fun and ultimately freeing, just like the song. Get your first Prism Tats here, and look out for the rest of the LP on April 15:
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