Music / music
Review: Priests, The Louisiana
Everyone is sweating outside the Louisiana. It was twenty-five degrees today – a proper British summer’s day – and there to be something special going on for us to want to crush ourselves into a room together for an hour. That special something is Priests, a post-punk band from Washington DC who released one of the best punk albums of the year back in January – their debut LP, Nothing Feels Natural. A statement of intent from the off, the record mixes off-kilter surf rhythms, unrelentingly debauched lyricism and the wide-range weapon that is frontperson Katie Alice Greer’s voice into something vital.
The record feels thrillingly raw, and the live show kicks and screams to match. Rolling from one song to the next in tight formation, the band kick together like a machine. Only one member shies from this clunk-click precision: Greer is everywhere at once, bearing her teeth, sarcastically tilting her head, stretching towards the ceiling, and balancing on speaker stacks. When she really leans into her singing it’s as if she’s dislocating her jaw like a snake, and the sing/shout sound that leaves her shakes us.
The height of the set comes when the band lean together to form the layers needed to perform No Big Bang, a breathless monologue led by quickfire drummer Daniele Daniele. Daniele screws her eyes shut, barking into the mic as fuzzy surf guitar shoots around her words. The bass is tapped out like bullets, and Greer washes a sing-song chorus over the top. The song’s agitation carries to the back, and soon we’re helplessly twitching in time.
is needed now More than ever
“There are good vibes in here tonight,” Greer smiles mid-set. “There are good people.” Perspiring and smiling as we leave, we’re pleased to have pleased one of the best live bands we’re likely to take in all year.
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