Review | Priests make a car crash of a racket that suits the age of Trump

Priests
Nothing Feels Natural
Sister Polygon

Arriving only a week after the world welcomed Donald Trump to the US hot seat, the debut album from opinionated Washington quartet Priests bristles with a furious post-punk energy; one that goes hand in tiny hand with a politically volatile landscape. Having spent Trump’s inauguration day playing an anti-fascist benefit in their hometown, Priests have shown they are not afraid to use their voice. “Pretty much everything is political. Talking about us being a political band is like saying we’re a band that makes noise,” says drummer Daniele Daniele, and it’s a wonderfully raucous noise that his lot make. The tribal beat of Appropriate sets the tone for the album, with Katie Alice Greer’s hollered vocals giving the track a raw burning energy reminiscent of early Jane’s Addiction, before it descends into a jazz car crash. Priests’ brand of rock is more than a collection of aggressive three-chord riffs – piano and horns flesh out the later disco-tinged rhythms while Greer sneers and yowls as if her life depended on it.