My Other People

TV Priest were only about a year old when they cut their first album, 2021s Uppers. While it was a powerful and effective debut, the groups stylistic similarities to Protomartyr were painfully obvious, and it sometimes felt like they were still working out their own creative identity. Sixteen months later, with some touring under their belts, the bands template has changed a bit on their second LP, 2022s My Other People. The harsh, jagged guitar figures of Alex Sprogis and the heavyweight rhythm section of Nic Bueth (bass) and Ed Kelland (drums) once again create a wall of sound that vocalist Charlie Drinkwater plows through with his powerful voice and blank-verse lyrics, just as they did on their first long-player. Thats not all they can do, though, and My Other People sees the band adding additional levels to their game. The languid and understated "Limehouse Cut" is built around moody synthesizer lines punctuated by slinky bass, "The Happiest Place on Earth" strips away Sprogis usual attack in favor of acoustic guitar, and "The Breakers" could almost pass for a pop song in its relatively gentle melodic framework. Most of the time, TV Priest are in attack mode here, but even then, their approach has grown a bit more artful, such as the dramatic build to an explosive climax on "Unraveling," and "One Easy Thing" leaves just enough room in the arrangement for the shards of guitar to stand out in greater relief. One thing that hasnt changed is Drinkwater, who still writes and hectors like Joe Casey gone to London on an exchange program. His saving grace on Uppers was that he was very good at what he was doing, and hes only improved on My Other People, reciting with an authority and edgy energy that makes the instrumentalists feel even more powerful (and vice versa). TV Priest are still working on an individual sound judging from My Other People, and at the same time theyre growing into a more accomplished and interesting band; their obvious talent makes them an act only a fool would ignore. ~ Mark Deming