When the Prids’ David Frederickson is asked if there are any overarching themes connecting the 11 songs on his band’s new album, Do I Look Like I’m In Love?, he starts talking about coalescing vibes and collections of things that fit together.
And then he pauses, and Mistina La Fave—the Prids’ bassist/vocalist and Frederickson’s musical partner of the past 23 years—jumps in.
“But what do you feel like it’s about?” she asks.
“Death,” he responds, and the two old friends crack up.
If any band can offer a nuanced perspective on death, it’s the Prids, who formed after La Fave saw Frederickson play a show in Missouri in 1995. They bonded over music, formed a band, and moved to Portland in 1999, where they’ve been cranking away, DIY style, ever since.
Do I Look Like I’m In Love? is the fourth Prids album, and the first since La Fave suffered a brain hemorrhage in March 2015, on the night before the band was scheduled to enter the studio.