Pure Protein is the work of M.W. Powell – a Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer originally hailing from Mississippi. Finding his footing in the nascent Southern alternative music scene, Powell eventually became intertwined with the now infamous Cats Purring collective in Oxford, MS, a label and community that has also carried releases from Dent May.
While mingling with Mississippi alt icons like Colour Revolt, Dead Gaze, Flight, and Dent May, Powell honed his production and songwriting chops that would lay the foundation for his work as Pure Protein.
A New Chapter in Los Angeles
From there, Powell moved 1800 miles west to Los Angeles to start a new chapter, which brings us some years later to now. With his 2020 debut release Winner Goes Home, an EP released May 8, 2020, Pure Protein merges sounds of the 90s rock radio he grew up on – think Goo Goo Dolls or Gin Blossoms – with the contemporary sounds of the emo revival and touches of dream pop. With Pure Protein, M.W. Powell aims to create something familiar while still claiming his own sonic niche.
Molly Urethane
The song getting the spotlight here is “Molly Urethane,” a single from Winner Goes Home. Despite what the title might suggest, it isn’t about a person named Molly. The accompanying video follows Powell through the hazy urban landscape of Los Angeles at dusk, footage captured before quarantine restrictions took hold, giving the clip an unintentional record of the city just before everything changed. It’s a fitting visual match for a song that sits at the crossroads of familiar 90s rock structure and something a little more unsettled underneath.
