PROM KING (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

Working with Carpark Records “gave me the confidence to ‘go big’ with the new material: to write pop songs with universal messages in the sonic wrapping paper that I’ve grown accustomed to,” DeRobertis says. “A few songs on Prom King are about specific events in my life—a party where I got too messed up, watching a friend’s life spiral out of control and trying to help—but I tried hard not to be too autobiographical because I want my music to unite, above all else. I’m much more interested in connecting with the listener than mystifying my personality.”

While DeRobertis’ previous long-players had been more amorphous collections in the style of beat tapes, Prom King is compact and cohesive, with the album’s varied stylistic references (new wave, UK garage, boogie) united through strong guitar melodies and Todd Edwards-ian cobblings-together of tiny vocal samples. Prom King was DeRobertis making sense of missed opportunities. His high school did not have a prom king; he has filled the position with an imaginative album of personal and musical revisionism. In the last decade, the album has taken on a life of its own. With over 42 million streams and a strong cult following, Carpark & Skylar Spence are excited to reissue Prom King (10 year Anniversary Edition), out September 19th.