Search - Priests :: Tall Tales

From "Losing Today"

Robert F. Filardo | 07/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For some reason one of the most shocking things for a lot of people is when they read about members of the clergy going off the rails and indulging in an orgy of pleasures of the flesh whilst loaded on an enormous cocktail of illegal Class As. Quite why this is scandalous is anybody's guess, after all, after a lifetime of abstinence and drinking the blood of the saviour like it's wine or something, you're bound to snap aren't you?







These Priests aren't preaching the word of God of course: nope they missed out the religion part and headed straight for the sex and drugs. The only altar they know of is the one where you sacrifice the virgin in the name of ROCK AND ROLL. Possibly.







The Priests' vision of Rock and Roll is a dirty one. Like looking at a porno mag through a pair of spectacles that have been dropped in a swamp. Grimy guitars are layered over relentless hypnotic drums and a seething organ, while Matt Allin preaches his sermon over the top. All the sleaziest rudiments of Rock's past are represented in The Priests sound. There are elements of the Velvets and Jesus and Mary Chain (all black clothes and pounding drums). There's the bourbon grizzled voices of Bon Scott and Alex Harvey channeled through Allin's throat, and then there's the wig outs of The Doors and the shimmy of Morrison's snake like hips. Admittedly these influences sound hideously dated, but in The Priests' hands these tunes become something like a new gospel. Tall Tales is an album full of solid rock songs, with grooves a mile deep, every song is a celebration. It's an album that's impossible not to fall in love with. The Priests will probably spend a great deal of time preaching to the converted, but with a sound as irresistible as this, their audience should swell quickly.



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