TV Priest – Uppers

TV Priest are four childhood friends who made music together as teenagers before drifting apart and then, somehow inevitably, getting back together in late 2019. Unsurprisingly, there's no precedent for forming a band during a global pandemic, but amidst the general sense of dread and unease that permeates everything right now, the release of debut single "House Of York" - a biting examination of the monarchy, underpinned by wiry post-punk and led by a Mark E. Smith-esque mouthpiece - served as a breath of fresh air amidst the chaos. It's that same lingering global sense of unease that will greet the release of "Uppers," and it's an album that has a lot to say right now.

Musically, Uppers takes cues from post-punk greats The Fall and Protomartyr, as well as the mechanical, pulsing grooves of Krautrock, and moves with an unbridled energy. Above this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, genuine frontman. "Uppers" shows TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, rising above and trying to make sense of this increasingly chaotic world. It's a band and a record that couldn't come at a more perfect time