Street Priest — More Nasty

Humbler Records presents More Nasty, a 4 track CD-R( or tape) by Street Priest. Street Priest is a trio from Cali made up of Jacob Felix Heule, Kristian Aspelin, and Matt Chandler, who have spent time in acts Burmese and Ettirck. Released in 2014, this is their only album that I know of to date.

At first glance, the visual aesthetic of More Nasty screams scummy power electronics. It’s all black and white, bold lettering, with a picture of a syringe on concrete or asphalt. And to be honest, for a split second, I confused Street Priest with Streetmeat (the U.S. power electronics act). I flip it over and what do I see? Guitar...bass...drums...and I realize this is some experimental instrumental stuff. I am immediately filled with dread, because let’s face, how many of these type of bands turn out to basically be Spinal Tap’s Jazz Odyssey? However, after a complete sitting, relief washes over me as I realize this is pretty damn good.

More Nasty delivers 4 tracks of instruments, mostly played how they’re not “supposed” to be, with a real experimental, free jazz spirit. Guitar chords are sparsely played, picked at, stretched and scratched. Rubbery bass lines stretch the sounds further, and the drumming sounds go from minimalism, to free jazz experimentation, to sounding like the clanging of pots and pans. Tracks run the gamut from sounding like a shop floor (the instruments sounding more like the cling clang of metal parts and the buzzing and humming of power tools) to being real eerie and chilling. In particular, “SIxth” reminded me of the score of The VVitch at times with it’s erratic chords building a wicked sense of foreboding. While a track like “Taylor” favors minimalism and slow building. It’s a diverse palette of sounds you’re treated to here.

In a nutshell, More Nasty is the experimental instrumental album for people who don’t really like experimental instrumental music. Aces all around!