After a couple of well-regarded cassette releases here's the debut LP from DC's Priests. I first heard these guys when they played with Good Throb on their recent US tour and the first thing I thought was "man, this is SO DC." I can't help but imagine these guys (well, mostly women) growing up attending Fugazi shows at Fort Reno, as it seems influenced by that band's trademark earnest politics as well as their strange combination of musical adventurousness and sonic puritanism (in other words, for all of the interesting stuff happening compositionally, this is still very much a guitar / bass / drums / vocals band). I know for a fact that their aggressive feminism bums some people out, and I think that is 100% awesome... more punk bands these days need to stand for something, and Priests definitely do. At the end of the day, though, it's about the songs, and this one definitely has some bangers... the standout here is "Doctor," with its big, catchy chorus, but anyone into anything from Fugazi to Good Throb will find quite a lot to like here. I have a feeling that this band probably has a Grand Artistic StatementŒ¬ in them at some point in the future, but in the meantime this is a killer little 12" EP of catchy, ambitious punk.