The FADER Interview: Protomartyr’s Joe Casey is now “one mile less cool than Eminem”

This week’s guest on The FADER Interview podcast is Protomartyr’s frontman and lyricist, Joe Casey. In advance of the notoriously cynical Detroit post-punk group’s sixth studio LP, Formal Growth in the Desert, due out this Friday (June 2) via Domino, Casey sat down with The FADER’s Raphael Helfand to discuss the project’s surprising optimistic streak and what inspired it.

One element of Casey’s newfound hope was his 2022 engagement (and, just this month, marriage). This major life change, among more tragic factors — his mother’s death, a string of break-ins — prompted a move from his family home on 6 Mile to a more suburban setting. “I’m a little bit outside of the city now, unfortunately,” he admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed but largely happy about the change of scenery. “Now I’m on 9 Mile. I’m one mile less cool than Eminem now.”

Listen to the full episode via this link, embedded below, or wherever you get your podcasts.