The Prize’s punky power pop debut album In The Red has no shortage of catchy choruses or hooky riffs, and is a hell of a good time.
Since forming in 2021, it’s taken The Prize until now to release their debut album. That doesn’t mean the Melbourne five-piece haven’t been busy – they’ve already toured Europe twice, supporting King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and The Chats. Their honed skills shine through on In The Red, which is bursting with catchy choruses and hooky riffs.
A few days before moving, drummer and vocalist Nadine Muller joins a video chat from her Brunswick West home. “They’re selling the house… so we just got evicted,” she says. “I’m currently packing up, which is fun.”
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Even dealing with Melbourne’s rental market doesn’t dull Muller’s smile. It’s an enthusiasm that can be heard in The Prize’s punky power pop. “It’s very heavily influenced by ’70s and ’80s rock’n’roll that I grew up listening to, like The Ramones and Divinyls and Blondie and that kind of era of music,” she says of her songwriting.
Also on vocals is guitarist Carey Paterson, joined by Joseph Imfeld and Austin Haire on guitars, with Ethan Stahl on bass. “The boys all love heavy guitar stuff, like Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick and those more classic rock bands,” says Muller. “That’s where the heavy guitarmony stuff comes into it.”
“I think Joe always wanted to be in a band with three guitars because he wanted to do the Thin Lizzy twin lead thing,” she explains. “It’s unique – there’s not a whole bunch of bands with three guitars, probably because it’s a little bit extra, and it costs a lot to tour.”
Muller is self-taught at drumming and singing, and learning to do them simultaneously was even more of a challenge. “You can hit a bum note on an instrument, and it’s not as personal,” says Muller.
“It scared the hell out of me, so I was like, ‘I’m going to do it because I’m scared of this.’ Then you do it, and you realise nothing bad happened. I didn’t die.”
Muller and Paterson share lead vocal duties. “We were both reluctant to start with, and now we’re like ‘Oh, I’m going to sing this one,’” she jokes. “Everyone else does a lot of backing vocals. There are always five microphones on stage, which the sound people love.”
Recording for In The Red started before the band went on tour with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard in late 2023, and was paused again to go on tour with The Chats. “There was a lot of going on the road, and then when you get back, you’re like, ‘the last thing I want to do is see any of you guys,’” jokes Muller. “You don’t want to go straight back into the studio, so it takes a few months for everyone to feel enthusiastic again.”
Though it may have delayed the release of the album, Muller says the touring experience was invaluable. “We were running before we could walk,” she says. “When we did that Gizzard tour and would walk out in front of 2,000 people, I was like, ‘Someone’s screwed up, what am I doing here?’ But I think we pulled it off, and we all learnt a lot of lessons that will carry over into any future touring.”
It was the band’s first EP that nabbed them such impressive support slots. “I think the Wrong Side of Town EP we were super naïve… in an endearing way,” says Muller. “We didn’t think about anything. We just wrote the songs and didn’t overthink them or reevaluate anything. It was just very raw and authentic for us at that time.”
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For In The Red, the band used a more polished approach. “Some of the songwriting happened really quickly, but there was a lot of mulling over things, so it was a much slower process,” explains Muller. “I think the songwriting has developed a bit over the last few years, which is good. You always hope you get a bit better at your craft as you do it more.”
Muller says it is a collaborative songwriting process, with her and Paterson writing the lyrics together. “Melodies just fall into my brain sometimes, so I’ve got a lot of voice memos on my phone of me humming something, which probably sounds horrific,” she says. “Then sometimes one of the guys will show me a riff, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, this vocal melody will work over the top of that.’”
The band wear their influences on their sleeve, paying homage while staying original. It’s a balance Muller says she doesn’t think too much about. “I’m not ashamed of being influenced by things,” she admits. “You can only do so much with influences. At the end of the day, with my voice and my style of drumming it’s not going to sound like a Blondie song or something. I’m not as good as Clem Burke and I don’t have Debbie Harry’s pipes, so it’s going to be more punk.”
The Prize will launch In The Red on Saturday, 15 November at The Curtin, and will perform new songs for the first time too. “Since we’re not all caught up in the last album, everyone’s got a bit of spark again and an enthusiasm for writing,” says Muller. They’ll also play Meredith Music Festival after many years of attending. “I reckon I wrote in a diary when I was like 14, ‘I will play Meredith one day,’” she confesses. “My teenage girl dreams just came true. It’s a special one.”
The Prize are playing The Curtin on 15 November. Get tickets here.
