Priory “Weekend” EP Review

by Eric Evans

Don’t let any amount of indie fronting fool you: if writing hit singles was easy, every band would do it. Which is one of the reasons Priory’s Weekend EP is kind of a gut punch: each of its four tracks is radio-ready. The title track has already been released and what a single it is, both fresh and familiar, mellow and anthemic. One imagines the execs at Warner Brothers hungrily licking their chops as the band—Brandon Rush and Kyle Sears of Portland, Oregon—recently signed to the label.

Priory’s sound has been described as indie folk and folk pop but it’s the pop part that sticks with you. “Weekend” channels Beck and M83, and sounds like the soundtrack to every high school senior’s Friday night. The deceptively simple verse and triumphantly simple chorus should be studied by every bedroom producer and garage band: here’s how to do it with a sense of economy. Yeah, the booming vocals on the chorus sell it, but this is Earworm 101. You can whistle the song beginning to end. “Lost Gold” begins with gentle guitar and chimes but soon enough leads to cinematic expanse and big hooks. So too “Put Em Up,” which starts with a languid little guitar riff and soon stomps into Franz Ferdinand four-on-the-floor territory. “Call To Arms” recalls the clean efficiency and easy pop sensibility of New Order’s Technique album—high praise.

If Priory has a weakness it’s their lyrics. At times they seem almost calculated in their appeal, couplets about escaping from parents, true love, etc. “Put Em Up” especially suffers from some basic if laudable beliefs spelled out as plainly as possible; only a bit of Blur-like wordplay regarding sexuality saves the lyric from being completely insufferable. But complaining that two young guys write lyrics like young guys is churlish. These are intensely catchy dance-pop songs and while the lyrics aren’t intended to be read at the UN General Assembly, neither do they approach levels of Katy Perry inanity. The Weekend EP is a great argument for the importance and fun of pure, unadulterated pop. Far from being a dirty word, it’s code for a very specific kind of skill. This is a collection of songs very much of and for the moment, and you won’t hear 15 catchier minutes in 2014.