Priests’ 2017 album Nothing Feels Natural was lauded far and wide as a potent post-punk missive from a promising new politically minded D.C. band. And it was! It was good. But this year’s follow-up, The Seduction of Kansas, is such a large leap forward in terms of sonics and style, it’s almost like you’re listening to a different Priests. In a way, you are. In between the two albums, bassist Taylor Mulitz left the band amicably, which the other members likened to “sawing off the fourth leg of a chair and rebuilding it to balance on three.” That balance is evident throughout The Seduction of Kansas, which is bigger, brighter and more nuanced than its predecessor, with a little more pop sensibility strutting around Priests’ punk snarl.

by Ben Salmon