The Hope and The Hurt is the latest album by Chicago-based The Przmatics. The band brings to fruition producer Mike Pryzgoda’s artistic vision as a musician and composer. As a producer, Pryzgoda has worked with a number of Chicago bands of all genres – the influence from this line of work clearly pays off in this new album.
Marketed as indie on their SoundCloud site, the band explores a wide range of sounds and styles: from R&B to soul, from shoe-gaze to anthemic rock, from indie to ballads – Pryzgoda’s band knows how to execute a good song dressed in an impressive variety.
Beyond the band’s own original takes, various comparisons came to mind – one minute it reminded me of Alabama Shakes and Counting Crows, and then the next, the guitar work strikes a slight resemblance to Robert Smith from The Cure.
Pryzgoda has also composed music for theatrical productions at the Goodman Theatre and Lyric Opera of Chicago and also composed dance scores for other projects. Pryzgoda did not write all the songs on The Hope and the Hurt, however, the band’s soulful singer Nü Moon, wrote “Find Love”, “Blame”, “Wait A Minute”, “Find Love Interlude” and “Phoenix”.
Notable songs include “Phoenix”, “Blame”, “When I’m Breaking/Rock of Ages”, and “Look at the Stars.”
The group consists Ausberto Acevedo on bass; Nick Gutierrez on vocals and keyboards; Nü Moon on vocals and guitars; Stephanie Stahl on vocals and guitars; and Mike Przygoda on everything else.
Written by Drew Wardle
