No, not The Priests. This is not the religious singing group featuring a trio of Roman Catholic clergymen. Not by a long shot. These Priests are the artsy DIY outfit from Washington, D.C. who released the critically acclaimed 2017 album Nothing Feels Natural. Granted, there probably isn’t much confusion between the two. But singer Katie Alice Greer erases any potential doubt right off the bat on their sophomore album The Seduction of Kansas — on a song titled Jesus’ Son, ironically enough. “I am Jesus’ son,” she belts over a wiry guitar line and a pounding backbeat. “I think I want to hurt someone … I’m young and dumb and full of come.” There. Now that they’ve got that cleared up, Priests devote the rest of their 42-minute disc to unspooling vaguely moody, vaguely experimental, vaguely psychedelic indie-rock and post-punk creations. Most of them balance their coolly poised, slightly detached musical style with lyrical substance that confronts and comments on politics, pornography, religion, sexist stereotypes and other hot buttons. Personally, I’m partial to the louder, faster fare like Jesus’ Son, Good Time Charlie and Control Freak, which deftly fuse power and propulsion with poppy melodies like a scrappier Blondie or Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But the hazier, more thoughtful stuff also does a pretty fair job of worming its way into your noggin after a few spins. One way or another, they’ll get you. And make you a true believer.
