Ready to go back? Prison’s still out there, breaking rocks in the haze and rumbling in the heat, just waiting for you to come around. Downstate, the second official Prison stint, is out January 31, 2025, stretching to insane new places while pumping out some of the toughest jams around. Lead single “Eyes For Keys” is on the loose today!

Prison’s been active since 2015, but if you didn’t catch ’em live in NYC, then you didn’t know until the summer of ‘23 when Upstate dropped. THEN you knew! On their debut, the jams were so long and varied that it was just four songs long, one per side; Downstate is built to showcase their swarming freakscene. Prison’s a multi-headed beast at its core! Recorded in Rockaway, core Prisoners Sarim Al-Rawi, Matt Lilly and Paul Major took some family and friends on the trip Downstate: guitarists Marc Razo and Adam Reich, bassist Matt Leibowitz, and Dave Smoota Smith on trombone (his first time ever in Prison!). Also present is the late Sam Jayne on vocals and guitar, a fellow lifer whose spirit will act as a guide for the rest of Prison’s time. With these many hands on deck, Prison plays all kinds of things, from insane distorted rock to dreamy psychedelia, plus some jazzy and gutsy blues shit too. They cop a variety of grooves on their sophomore LP, from minimalist (like Guru Guru) to sweat-shaking (Stooges) to chaotic (No Trend) — leap-hogging from one vibe to the next, coming from everywhere.

The first single, “Eyes For Keys”, is a massive slab of psyched-out mutant boogie rock that stands tall and proud next to anything from Blue Cheer, Velvets, Pink Fairies, all of ‘em. With Sarim screaming wild, “Eyes” surges blindly forward, accelerating to full speed, a fully-haunted fast-motion trainwreck-a-comin’ where no sense makes all the sense every inch of the ride. Johnny Celentano’s music video sends the sounds into a visual death spiral, with toxic blown-out colors poisoning the band’s mayhem — they even lit a dude on fire!

Next up? The Central Park Bandshell? Prison plays prison? Who knows? The sky’s the limit. But before all that, you gotta make it back from Downstate by January 31. They don’t make it easy…

Prison 2024 Tour Dates

Nov. 14, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA @ Permanent Records Roadhouse (w/ Graffiti Phallico, Muscle Beach)
Nov. 15, 2024 - Oakland, CA @ Thee Stork Club (w/ Low Plateau, Haardvark)
Nov. 16, 2024 - Eureka, WA @ Siren's Song (w/ Blackplate)
Nov. 17, 2024 - Portland, OR @ Turn Turn Turn (w/ Dommengang)
Nov. 18, 2024 - Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge
Nov. 21 - Denver, CO @ Lost Lake (w/ nineteen minutes later, Of Vizions)