This album almost slipped by me in this crazy year of alternate facts and a lot of yelling. I’m glad I saw a recent article about it that reminded me to buy Priests‘ Nothing Feels Natural, because it’s a sharp post-punk record and one of the records 2017 needed most.
The album begins with drummer Daniele Daniele‘s urgent beats before lead singer Katie Alice Greer comes in with her vocal style that immediately grabs you by the throat. Soon, guitarist G.L. Jaguar and bassist Taylor Mulitz are slapping you around and Greer is singing, “It feels good to buy what you can’t afford.” She’s put her finger in the eye of American consumer culture in under two minutes. On “JJ,” Jaguar unleashes some clever surf rock hooks and Greer’s vocals go from menacing to playful while the lyrics keep twisting a knife into the culture of artifice we’ve created.
“Nicki” has some goth touches (mostly in Jaguar’s guitar and Mulitz’s bass) that catch you off guard before it flattens you with hard shoegaze riffs. “Yes, it’s true, I want more,” Greer sings. She’s just as easily seduced by consumerism and always projecting a perfect image as the rest of us, but the power behind her vocals lets us know she’s fighting temptation. “Lelia 20” offers us some of that strength as Greer sings, “Things could be much worse.” Never forget that (and you won’t forget Daniele’s great drumming throughout the whole track).
“No Big Bang,” with vocals by Daniele, is about disappointment and shattered illusions. “Your mind keeps running along the same narrow track of logic for what feels like forever…” is just one of the insightful lyrics in this near-spoken word piece. The title track has some of Greer’s best vocals and saddest lyrics. “Perhaps I will change into something,” she begins as the rest of the band puts down great riffs and beats behind her. Jaguar’s guitar soars on this cut, taking it to another level.
“Pink White House” is the first song I ever heard by Priests. It’s fiery, vicious, and yet completely danceable as Greer keeps chanting about “Anything you want. Anything, anything!” It’s a wake-up call to walk away from the temptations of a new SUV, mindless sitcoms, dwelling in nostalgia, and thinking money will solve everything. “Kneel at the feet of programming…You are just a cog in a machine,” she warns.
“Puff” has Greer saying she wants to start a band called Burger King (Who used to have the slogan “Have it your way.”) and use it to make others’ dreams come true. It is, of course, a slap in the face of people who look to the media to solve their problems and make up their minds. I love that the album ends with a song called “Suck.” It’s slick as oil (Daniele, Jaguar, and Mulitz fire on all cylinders throughout it) and has Greer singing, “Please don’t make me be someone with no sympathy.” She wants to care, but sometimes people make it so damn hard.
2017 was like that. It was hard to care, but Priests know we must. We are all each other have. Nothing Feels Natural, both in title and content, is a glass of cold water in our collective faces. Wake up. Snap out of it. Preach on, Priests.
Keep your mind open.
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