Music / Premieres
Premiere:
100% - Prisoner
Words by James Lynch
Friday 3rd June, 2022
The second cut to be pulled from their impending debut album, today we’ve been treated to a first listen to ‘Prisoner’, a powersurge of a new single from cult synth-wave trio 100%.
In April, 100% returned with ‘Abandon’, their first new music since 2016 that doubled as a thrilling first taste of their long-awaited debut album. The track caught our ear at the time and made its way into our Top Picks of the Week, noting that its “hypnotically disorientating” made the track feel equally “danceable and destructive”. Now, they’ve shared a second taste of the forthcoming record that follows suit in the best way possible, another pulsating dose of experimental pop that lures us deeper into the world they’re crafting on debut album Clear Visions.

After being set in motion with a frenetic programmed beat, ‘Prisoner’ opens up with a dense and dirty swirl of synths, one looming to give a murky layer of grime to the track while others glimmer and shine on top. It’s not long before the soundscape is filled out by Lena Molnar’s acute vocals, cutting through the mix and adding an extra touch of agitation to the track with her incisive, slightly sinister lyrics. The press release warns us that the track will “pull you out of your comfort zone” and they’re not wrong - it’s oppressive, potent and relentless - but even so, when 100% hit us with each of the dancefloor-ready synth hooks that permeate the track, we couldn’t be any less satisfied.

'Prisoner' is out today in all the usual places, ahead of the release of Clear Visions later this year via It Records.