Washington, DC political punk rockers Priests have announced they’re taking an indefinite hiatus. Their final show will be a New Year’s Eve gig at Brooklyn’s Rough Trade.
The band announced their “break” via a note posted on social media. “We aren’t in a place to write another album together right now,” they wrote, “and feel like each of us would be better served pursuing individual projects separately for the time being.”
They went on to say the decision was reached “collectively” and that they were “looking forward to being friends and partners in Sister Polygon, the record label we run together, and not bandmates for awhile.” Priests added that while they aren’t completely ruling out future reunions, there will be no more new music or shows “for the foreseeable future.”
The note continued,
“We want to thank all of you who have been on this journey with us. You’ve stood by us during some really hard times and your support and belief in our music helped us hold it together when we weren’t sure we could. We are so proud of what we’ve accomplished together and so incredibly grateful to the team we’ve worked with over the years — Priests has never ever been simply the 4 people playing on a stage. It is very much an ecosystem of human interdependence and a variety of different life experiences.”
Priests first came together in 2012, releasing music via their own Sister Polygon label. Their full-length debut, Nothing Feels Natural, arrived to great acclaim in 2017. Bassist Taylor Mulitz left shortly thereafter, leaving the other founding members (vocalist Katie Alice Greer, drummer Daniele Daniele, and guitarist G.L. Jaguar) unsure about their future. However, with a poppier new direction guiding them, they were able to pull together for their sophomore LP, The Seduction of Kansas, which dropped earlier this year.
You can read Priests’ entire farewell note below. Tickets to their final show on December 31st are available here.
Revisit the title track to The Seduction of Kansas below.