First Posted: 6/9/2014
Do not let its short runtime deceive you. Priests’ debut album “Bodies and Control and Money and Power” may only last 17 minutes, but it is jam-packed with blistering post-punk jams. Hailing from Washington, D.C., Priests harkens back to the stripped down sounds of punk garage bands, yet they have a polish that is surprising for such a young band.
“Design Within Reach” starts the album off with a great guitar riff and drum beat. Katie Alice Greer’s vocals are angry and powerful. It’s hard to not hear bluesy elements in her voice, a mix of sultry and whiskey-graveled. From there, the album moves into “Doctor” – this track is catchy as all hell! Then a realization of the chorus hits and you find that you’ve been singing, “You put your fingers in other people’s mouths all day, don’t you doctor?” out of your car window while sitting at the stoplight the entire time and people at the crosswalk are now staring.
The musicianship on the album is also more than your average garage band atmosphere. There are elements of surf rock sounds sprinkled throughout the album (most notably in “New”) created by G.L. Jaguar’s untiring guitar and driving drums of Daniele Daniele. Even the much calmer tempo of “Right Wing” plays well with Priests’ other offerings.
“Bodies and Control and Money and Power” is post-punk at its finest. The fact this is Priests’ first album says quite a bit about their talent and what their future holds. With their unapologetic, at times political, but always boisterous style of punk rock, Priests has a sound that people can get behind.
Priests ‘Bodies and Control and Money and Power’ Rating W W W W V
