By Monk
To say that Über Rock and The Hip Priests have history, a long history, would probably rate as one of the most stupendously stupid understatements of this or any other year. As long-time readers will be more than aware, we have been champions of the self-styled “most prolific band you’ve never heard of” since the site’s early days, and both ourselves and the band virtually grew up together. Despite being forced (like most of the rest of us) to slow down due to the Covidications of the past few years, the Priests have released an humungous amount of material during their 15+ year career, with their bathtub-filling count standing at something like three EPs and more than a couple of dozen singles – a count to which we can now add this, their fifth full-length album.
Now it may have been just shy of four years since these Nottingham hipsters, and hip shakers, last stood for nothing, but here we are again, standing at yet another crossroads in the quintet’s life story. That last album was the sound of an band coming out of a state of catharsis, emerging from a period when then were oh so close to giving it all up: after more than a decade of stubbornly banging their heads against a wall, trying to keep a dead scene (as they saw it) alive and being ignored by every clique, they were pretty much spent and on the verge of giving it all up. But, they had one last album in them… and then, just as they got that fire back in their veins and felt the desire to pick themselves up and keep on rockin’, fate once again intervened and the word went to hell in a plague-ridden handcart.
But, you know what? It keeps a helluva lot, and certainly not the relatively minor intervention of a global pandemic, to keep a bunch of hoary punk ‘n’ rollers down ‘n’ out, and so the band band slowly regrouped and re-evaluated, rediscovering their love for what they do best – and that is producing defiantly (in)gloriously brilliant action punk tunes that just grab you by the balls and don’t let go, not only for the duration of the initial listen but for quite some time afterwards.
Setting the tone with the anarchic trad-punk of ‘Trojan Horseshit’, the Priests show they ain’t taking any of that kind of crap, hitting the nail squarely on the head and into the middle of the next door neighbour’s living room with the ferocity of their hammer blow. What follows is the tightest collection of 11 lean and mean ‘banging tunes that they, or any other band, could possibly fit into 30 short, sharp minutes of non-stop punk ‘n’ roll action.
This is defiant high energy r’n’f’r, dragged straight from a back alley garage and into the seedy limelight of the seediest back street club you can imagine. The Hip Priests have consistently delivered anthemic, adrenalized, sweaty, singalong, life-affirming rock and fucking roll, with huge choruses, colossal dual guitar riffarama, more hooks than a fishing shop, and one hell of an attitude. And they’ve done it again!
You can call it punk, you can label it garage rock, hell you can even try to brand it as “Scandi Rock” (but, you can’t ‘cos they’re from Nottingham, mofos). Fuck, you stick as many labels on it as you can buy in your local stationary shop, just know this… They ARE THE HIP PRIESTS and YOU (even you, Father Ted, hiding there in the corner and banging yer noggin in appreciation) are NOT.
- ‘Roden House Blues‘ is released on 5 May.
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