Last on these pages in just April with their Carly-Rae-Jepsen-esque single You Should Know, Dallas duo PRIZM are back with another new song in the form of the righteous sounding Can’t Bring Me Down.
Similar to You Should Know, Can’t Bring Me Down embraces 80s-influenced pop but if anything kicks things up another notch. Where PRIZM’s previous song predominantly focused on a strong hook in the chorus, this new song throws everything at you, with a greater emphasis on the production.
The chorus still has a huge hook, and the chants of “No way, no how… Can’t bring me down” in the outro really remind me of the “S-U-C-C-E-S-S” opening from Pat Benatar’s Sometimes The Good Guys Finish First, itself more recently heard sampled on Lifelike’s glorious So Electric. At the same time, the production work creates an even more energetic feel than You Should Know, complete with a bit of a daytime-sax solo… It is the kind of sound that recalls mid-afternoon chat-shows and gameshows from the 80s, in a good way.
Can’t Bring Me Down was specifically written as an antidote to the current upheaval most of us are facing, as the duo explain:
“Can’t Bring Me Down was an idea we had for a power anthem to uplift everyone during a time of change and uncertainty. It was the first of the new songs we wrote for the upcoming album and was the first time we had created something in weeks. We did our usual chocolate snacks and coffee bundled up in a blanket in the studio and began to dig down for something inspiring and fun for our fans to listen to. We put a lot into this song with layers upon layers of ear candy. This song brought us to life again and set the trajectory of creating a full-length album.”
I love the dense detail in the production work, and the sense of determination and enthusiasm really comes though. Check out Can’t Bring Me Down below, and look out for PRIZM’s debut album All Night, due in September via FiXT.