How do you age gracefully as punks? Protex were around before most of us were even here, part of the late ’70s Good Vibrations wave that produced some of the best songs this genre has to offer. Hard to imagine anyone back then thinking about what this music would sound like five decades later, let alone the people making it.
In the case of Protex, day jobs are done and dusted. What is left is a band of extremely cool granddads and uncles who still show up, still play, still write. Sticking With You, out now on Bachelor Records, proves that is not just a nostalgia exercise. This is still punk in spirit, but it comes wrapped in something more measured. They are not trying to recreate their teenage years, and they are not chasing speed for the sake of it. Instead, they lean into a loose, confident rock sound with a clear punk backbone.
If their 2022 come-back album Wicked Ways proved Protex still had some fire in them, Sticking With You shows they have settled into a new identity. The melodic instincts that were already there in ’78 are still front and center, but the angst has given way to warmth and ease. The songs breathe more and the playing stretches out just enough. There is something quietly defiant about this record. No rush, no posturing, just a band that knows exactly who they are and plays to that strength.
Sticking With You is a highly enjoyable listen and, honestly, an impressive achievement. Because let’s face it, nobody expects a group of punk lifers to sound this good this far down the line.