Out of the chaos omnipresent in Washington, DC, 2019 has brought a wealth of politically-charged music, but few more notable than the second LP from DC’s own Priests, the fiery foursome who burst onto the scene early this decade with a slew of releases harnessing the raw anger of frontwoman Katie Alice Greer, all released through the band’s own DIY record label, Sister Polygon.
As early as 2014, Greer was highlighting the disappointment of the neoliberal government in the nation’s capital, closing their first EP with the declaration that “Barack Obama killed something in me”, a dagger of a line succinctly summarizing the Gen-Y disappointment of watching “hope and change” dissolve into a mess of drone strikes, deportations, and apologia for a status quo that preys on the vulnerable.
Left as a trio following the departure of bassist Taylor Mulitz to focus on their Flasher project, the band was poised for an evolution, and the band’s latest record, The Seduction of Kansas, is just that. “This is a band not a frickin’ burger joint,” Greer recently tweeted in response to a review that complained the new record didn’t sound like their 2014 EP, Bodies and Control and Money and Power.
Armed with a new, more electronic sonic direction, production from the ever-prolific John Congleton, and renewed purpose, the band made a record that is, as the title suggests, focused primarily on how the West was not won, but lost. Invoking the ghost of hawkish Senator Charlie Wilson, revisiting the US’ acquisition of Texas, and imagining the son of Christ as a vulgar “smoking gun” of a man, the band piece together a tapestry of American hypocrisy and the corruption of its values, with the title track in particular charging the Koch brothers and the military-industrial complex as agents of that downfall.
Priests have lost none of their energy bringing this timely anger on tour, and their stop in Cambridge, MA was characteristically charged. Greer has an all-time great vocal delivery, able to rise to a soulful but gritty yowl in tracks like ‘Jesus’ Son’ and ‘JJ’, but also flexing melodically in tracks like ‘Nothing Feels Natural’ and ‘The Seduction of Kansas’. But while Greer does the lion’s share of singing, she isn’t the band’s only vocalist, with drummer Daniele Daniele having penned and sung some of the band’s most notable material, including ‘No Big Bang’, which moves deftly between verbose verses of absurdist disillusionment and a satisfying, singalong chorus; as well as the pairing of ‘68 Screen’ and ‘I’m Clean’, which in the live setting sees Daniele descend from her percussionist throne to the front of the stage, her presence captivating the audience as she sings this duo of songs about the tendencies of men to view women as blank slates for their own inaccurate ideas.
Other highlights of the night included ‘Pink White House’, a standout cut from 2017’s Nothing Feels Natural that simultaneously sends up both the gender and political binary in the USA; as well as a stellar rendition of ‘Jesus’ Son’ full of shredding from guitarist G.L. Jaguar, whose sizeable array of effect pedals anchors the instrumental component of Priests’ sound along with bassist Alex Tyson, who helped write material for Seduction and onstage brandished a stylish black bass against a truly fantastic all-white suit.
With vocalists as stirring as any punk legend of yore, lyricism to match, and an unwavering do-it-yourself ethos, Priests are, without a doubt, one of the most essential rock acts to emerge this decade, and, thankfully, the world seems to be catching on. In a somewhat ironic twist, it’s almost a modern version of the American dream – a band working hard for years under their own power, sacrificing nothing, rising to national stardom with profiles and interviews in the likes of Rolling Stone and Pitchfork – all while creating an inclusive space for young artists to thrive under the umbrella of Sister Polygon.
The band spoke of their appreciation for The Sinclair making their show all-ages as well, as those shows are a cornerstone of their native DIY communities. Priests have made it their business to furiously excoriate the unwanted elements of the past that linger on in the present day – and if this band is representative of the future, then there’s certainly hope coming out of Washington, DC.
Photos and review by Collin Heroux
