“I am safe here” sneers Charlie Drinkwater four songs into Priest’s much-anticipated My Other People, and you can bet your life he’s not the only one. Fans of a certain genre, faced with the London four-piece’s second album, will also be feeling distinctly secure, greeted with a reassuring but well-executed take on the post punk du jour. With vocals along the lines of Yard Act’s spoken/sung delivery and jagged toilet-circuit-sink-shaking riffs, My Other People achieves the confounding quality of sounding instantly familiar on first listen.
That’s not to say it’s a bad album, as the band put up a robust fight against a background threatening to swallow them whole – trebly laser-beam guitars keep the edges sharp, their banshee wail driving the raucous ‘It Was a Gift’ forward relentlesslyand giving opening track ‘The Breakers’ an entirely different dimension after a low voltage opening.
That more understated sound crops up elsewhere and is unexpectedly engaging, providing some deeper, less obvious cuts which are ultimately very rewarding. ‘Limehouse Cut’ mournfully rides on a hypnotic bassline and putting the acoustic-led ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ as the third track is a masterstroke – at first glance it has album closer written all over it but fully deserves one of the top spots.
But when all’s said and done, riotous post punk is the sound of the moment for a reason, and it’s impossible not to get swept up as Drinkwater fully blows his top on ‘It Was Beautiful’, the band giving it both barrels with exhilarating power which distances them from the kind of negative, minor-key version of Sports Team they verge on elsewhere.
Words - Joe Ponting
TV Priest official
Tour dates…
Fri. Jul. 22 - Suffolk, UK - Latitude Festival
Sun. Jul. 24 - Sienna, IT - TVSpenta Festival
Tue. Jul.26 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool
Wed. Jul. 27 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA
Fri. Jul. 29 - Montréal, QC - Bar le Ritz PDB
Sat. Jul. 30 - Toronto, ON - Monarch Tavern
Sun. Jul. 31 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
Thu. Aug. 04 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon
Fri. Aug. 05 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon
Sat. Aug. 06 - Vancouver, BC - Fox Cabaret
Sun. Aug. 07 - Seattle, WA - Clock-Out Lounge
Fri. Sep. 03 - Salisbury, UK - End of the Road Festival
Fri. Sep. 09 - Heusden, NL - Misty Fields Festival
Sat. Sep. 17 - Leicester, UK - Wide Eyed Festival
Mon. Oct. 24 - Nijmegen, NL - Merleyn
Tue. Oct. 25 - Groningen, NL - Vera
Tue. Oct. 26 - Rotterdam, NL - Rotown
Fri. Oct. 28 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling Festival
Sun. Oct. 30 - Bristol, UK - The Louisiana
Mon. Oct. 31 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
Tue. Nov. 01 - Dublin, IE - The Workman's Cellar
Thu. Nov. 03 - Manchester, UK - Yes (Pink Room)
Fri. Nov. 04 - Glasgow, UK - Broadcast
Sat. Nov. 05 - Leeds, UK - Belgrave Music Hall
Mon. Nov. 07 - Cambridge, UK - Portland Arms
Tue. Nov. 08 - Leicester, UK - Firebug Bar
Thu. Nov. 10 - London, UK - Scala
Fri. Nov. 11 - Reading, UK -The Face Bar
Sat. Nov. 12 - Southampton, UK - The Joiners
Sun. Nov. 13 - Brighton, UK - Green Door Store
Tue. Nov. 15 - Paris, FR - TBC
Wed. Nov. 16 - Le Havre, FR - Le Tetris
Fri. Nov. 18 - Nantes, FR - Stereolux
Sat. Nov. 19 - Lille, FR - L’Aeronef
Sun. Nov. 20 - Brussels, BE - Botanique
Tue. Nov. 22 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F
Thu. Nov. 24 - Berlin, DE - Privatvclub
Fri. Nov. 25 - Cologne, DE - Artheater