THE PRIESTS
Tall Tales (Get Hip)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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There are albums you instantly like, there are albums are immediately drawn to and can't stop listening to, and then there are the ones that you can't stop evangelizing to everyone you know. Yes, I do see the irony: I'm evangelizing The Priests, but I do so without shame, for I have been smitten by the unmistakable sounds of that other rock and roll dream.

This ain't power pop, baby. The sound is rising up from sub-level Z in the parking garage. Fuzzed-out guitars float on a Farfisa vibe and tribal pounding, the sound of darkness and fog everywhere as Matt Allyn moans out from behind it all, starting gentle, almost fragile before ripping into a full-throated scream that tears down your spine. I could probably come up with a few singers Allyn sounds semi-sorta like, but his delivery is so different from any of the names I'd have on the list that it'd be a waste of time. When his bandmates go 180 degrees from their normal minor-keys-and-riffs territory (oh so momentarily) and seem to be showing us the way to the next whiskey bar, Allyn arrives on the scene and serves notice that we're not really going there, opting instead for a trippin' bit of contrast. Nothing particularly fancy, mind you, just simple riffs played in a mesmerizing way over a bass-drum groove that's just as simple and therefore just as effective.

I can't get any of it out of my head, personally. This is a revelation for anyone who likes to float on their garage music but wishes it also had an edge.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson