TV Priest Indierock | Alternative 4 Items

It's Tempting To Think That You Have All The Answers, Screaming Your Gospel Every Day With Certainty And Anger. Life Isn't Quite Like That Though, And The Debut Album From London Four-Piece Tv Priest Instead Embraces The Beautiful And Terrifying Unknowns That Exist Personally, Politically, And Culturally. Posing As Many Questions As It Answers, Uppers Is A Thunderous Opening Statement That Continues The Uk's Recent Resurgence Of Grubby, Furious Post-Punk Music. It Says Something Very Different Though - Something Completely Its Own. Four Childhood Friends Who Made Music Together As Teenagers Before Drifting Apart And Then, Somewhat Inevitably, Back Together Late In 2019, Tv Priest Was Borne Out Of A Need To Create Together Once Again, And Brings With It A Wealth Of Experience And Exhaustion Picked Up In The Band's Years Of Pursuing 'Real Life' And 'Real Jobs', Something Those Teenagers Never Had. Last November, The Band - Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater, Guitarist Alex Sprogis, Bass And Keys Player Nic Smith And Drummer Ed Kelland - Played Their First Show, To A Smattering Of Friends In What They Describe As An "Industrial Freezer" In The Warehouse District Of Hackney Wick. "It Was Like The Pub In Peep Show With A Washing Machine Just In The Middle_" Charlie Laughs, Remembering How They Dodged Star Wars Memorabilia And Deep Fat Fryers While Making Their First Statement As A Band. Unsurprisingly, There Isn't A Precedent For Launching A Band During A Global Pandemic, But Among The General Sense Of Anxiety And Unease Pervading Everything At The Moment, Tv Priest's Entrance In April With The Release Of Debut Single "House Of York" - A Searing Examination Of The Monarchy Set Over Wiry Post-Punk And Fronted By A Mark E. Smith-Like Mouthpiece - Served As A Breath Of Fresh Air Among The Chaos, Its Anger And Confusion Making Some Kind Of Twisted Sense To The Nation's Fried Brains. It's The Same Continued Global Sense Of Anxiety That Will Greet The Release Of Uppers, And It's An Album That Has A Lot To Say Rig...

It's Tempting To Think That You Have All The Answers, Screaming Your Gospel Every Day With Certainty And Anger. Life Isn't Quite Like That Though, And The Debut Album From London Four-Piece Tv Priest Instead Embraces The Beautiful And Terrifying Unknowns That Exist Personally, Politically, And Culturally. Posing As Many Questions As It Answers, Uppers Is A Thunderous Opening Statement That Continues The Uk's Recent Resurgence Of Grubby, Furious Post-Punk Music. It Says Something Very Different Though - Something Completely Its Own. Four Childhood Friends Who Made Music Together As Teenagers Before Drifting Apart And Then, Somewhat Inevitably, Back Together Late In 2019, Tv Priest Was Borne Out Of A Need To Create Together Once Again, And Brings With It A Wealth Of Experience And Exhaustion Picked Up In The Band's Years Of Pursuing 'Real Life' And 'Real Jobs', Something Those Teenagers Never Had. Last November, The Band - Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater, Guitarist Alex Sprogis, Bass And Keys Player Nic Smith And Drummer Ed Kelland - Played Their First Show, To A Smattering Of Friends In What They Describe As An "Industrial Freezer" In The Warehouse District Of Hackney Wick. "It Was Like The Pub In Peep Show With A Washing Machine Just In The Middle_" Charlie Laughs, Remembering How They Dodged Star Wars Memorabilia And Deep Fat Fryers While Making Their First Statement As A Band. Unsurprisingly, There Isn't A Precedent For Launching A Band During A Global Pandemic, But Among The General Sense Of Anxiety And Unease Pervading Everything At The Moment, Tv Priest's Entrance In April With The Release Of Debut Single "House Of York" - A Searing Examination Of The Monarchy Set Over Wiry Post-Punk And Fronted By A Mark E. Smith-Like Mouthpiece - Served As A Breath Of Fresh Air Among The Chaos, Its Anger And Confusion Making Some Kind Of Twisted Sense To The Nation's Fried Brains. It's The Same Continued Global Sense Of Anxiety That Will Greet The Release Of Uppers, And It's An Album That Has A Lot To Say Rig...

Without a brutal evaluation of their own becoming, TV Priest might have never made their second album. Heralded as the next big thing in post-punk, they were established as a bolshy, sharp-witted outfit, the kind that starts movements with their political ire. There was of course truth in that, but it was a suit that quickly felt heavy on its wearer's shoulders, leaving little room for true vulnerability. "A lot of it did feel like I was being really careful and a bit at arm's length," says vocalist Charlie Drinkwater. "I think maybe I was not fully aware of the role I was taking. I had to take a step back and realize that what we were presenting was quite far away from the opinion of myself that I had. Now, I just want to be honest." Having made music together since their teenage years, the London four-piece piqued press attention in late 2019 with their first gig as a newly solidified group, a raucous outing in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. Debut single "House of York" followed with a blistering critique of monarchist patriotism, and they were signed to Sub Pop for their debut album. When Uppers arrived in the height of a global pandemic, it reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its "dystopian doublespeak," but the band - Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, producer, bass and keys player Nic Bueth and drummer Ed Kelland - were at home like the rest of us, drinking cups of tea and marking time via government-sanctioned daily exercise. As such, the personal and professional landmark of its release felt "both colossal and minuscule" dampened by the inability to share it live. "It was a real gratification and really cathartic, but on the other hand, it was really strange, and not great for my mental health" admits Drinkwater. "I wasn't prepared, and I hadn't necessarily expected it to reach as many people as it did." As such, My Other People maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. Using "Saintless" (the closing song from Uppers) as something of a starting point, Drinkwater set about crafting lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health. "Speaking very candidly, it was written at a time and a place where I was not, I would say, particularly well," he says. "There was a lot of things that had happened to myself and my family that were quite troubling moments.Despite that I do think the record has our most hopeful moments too; a lot of me trying to set myself reminders for living, just everyday sentiments to try and get myself out of the space I was in." "It was a bit of a moment for all of us where we realised that we can make something that, to us at least, feels truly beautiful," agrees Bueth. "Brutality and frustration are only a part of that puzzle, and despite a lot of us feeling quite disconnected at the time, overwhelmingly beautiful things were also still happening." This tension between existential fear born from the constant uncertainties of life, and an affirmative, cathartic urge to seize the moment, is central to My Other People, a record that heals by providing space for recognition, a ground zero in which you're welcome to stay awhile but which ultimately only leads up and out. For TV Priest, it is a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound.

Without a brutal evaluation of their own becoming, TV Priest might have never made their second album. Heralded as the next big thing in post-punk, they were established as a bolshy, sharp-witted outfit, the kind that starts movements with their political ire. There was of course truth in that, but it was a suit that quickly felt heavy on its wearer's shoulders, leaving little room for true vulnerability. "A lot of it did feel like I was being really careful and a bit at arm's length," says vocalist Charlie Drinkwater. "I think maybe I was not fully aware of the role I was taking. I had to take a step back and realize that what we were presenting was quite far away from the opinion of myself that I had. Now, I just want to be honest." Having made music together since their teenage years, the London four-piece piqued press attention in late 2019 with their first gig as a newly solidified group, a raucous outing in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. Debut single "House of York" followed with a blistering critique of monarchist patriotism, and they were signed to Sub Pop for their debut album. When Uppers arrived in the height of a global pandemic, it reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its "dystopian doublespeak," but the band - Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, producer, bass and keys player Nic Bueth and drummer Ed Kelland - were at home like the rest of us, drinking cups of tea and marking time via government-sanctioned daily exercise. As such, the personal and professional landmark of its release felt "both colossal and minuscule" dampened by the inability to share it live. "It was a real gratification and really cathartic, but on the other hand, it was really strange, and not great for my mental health" admits Drinkwater. "I wasn't prepared, and I hadn't necessarily expected it to reach as many people as it did." As such, My Other People maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. Using "Saintless" (the closing song from Uppers) as something of a starting point, Drinkwater set about crafting lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health. "Speaking very candidly, it was written at a time and a place where I was not, I would say, particularly well," he says. "There was a lot of things that had happened to myself and my family that were quite troubling moments.Despite that I do think the record has our most hopeful moments too; a lot of me trying to set myself reminders for living, just everyday sentiments to try and get myself out of the space I was in." "It was a bit of a moment for all of us where we realised that we can make something that, to us at least, feels truly beautiful," agrees Bueth. "Brutality and frustration are only a part of that puzzle, and despite a lot of us feeling quite disconnected at the time, overwhelmingly beautiful things were also still happening." This tension between existential fear born from the constant uncertainties of life, and an affirmative, cathartic urge to seize the moment, is central to My Other People, a record that heals by providing space for recognition, a ground zero in which you're welcome to stay awhile but which ultimately only leads up and out. For TV Priest, it is a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound.