WEDNESDAY, 25TH JUNE 2025

Prosa's debut single 'Decline' is urgent, unruly, and unapologetically hopeful

Tāmaki Makaurau/Berlin-based trio Prosa waste no time introducing themselves with their debut single ‘Decline’—a two-minute-fifty-eight-second jolt of post-everything fury that feels not only timely, but necessary. It’s the sound of the world teetering on the edge, and someone daring to dance to it anyway.

Recorded by Martin Phillips (Repairs), ‘Decline’ is the first glimpse of Prosa’s upcoming debut EP, and it lands with the precision of a thrown bottle and the purpose of a manifesto. Think Fugazi’s conviction, Turnstile’s joy, and the scuzzed-out textures of early Hole, funneled into a single, sharply focused burst of post-hardcore/post-punk crossover energy.

Driving the project is German-Kiwi songwriter Florian Bell (they/them), who formed the band in early 2025 after recording the EP with Joe Gasparich (Melanie). Joined by Elle Purcell (bass) and Georgia Holden (drums) for the live lineup, the band’s presence—on stage and in sound—is instantly magnetic. Their recent headlining show at Nice Goblins proved it: Prosa aren’t interested in small statements.

‘Decline’ is both catharsis and clarity. Amid breakneck guitars, pummeling basslines, and fierce drumwork, Bell’s vocals rise with urgency but never give in to despair. The song confronts a generation raised in the shadow of collapse—climate disasters, global instability, existential fatigue—and insists on joy and connection as acts of resistance.

There's a queer-progressive spine running through it all—sonically aggressive, politically direct, and emotionally expansive. The name Prosa (from Latin prosa oratio – "straightforward speech") speaks to their ethos: say it plainly, play it hard, but never reduce it to cliché.

Fans of La Dispute, Jesus Lizard, Killing Joke, and local heroes Ringlets or The Mint Chicks will find a lot to love here. But Prosa aren’t imitating—they’re building something vital: music that reflects the chaos around us, but refuses to be swallowed by it.