After seven years and two albums, Priests, the great and fiercely beloved DC rock band, are going on hiatus. The members of the band have been alluding to a long break on social media for a while, but they made it official this morning, sharing a warm and loving statement with the public.

Priests stopped just short of announcing a full-on breakup, merely saying that they are “taking a break from the band.” But this is one of those hiatus announcements where it’s clear that we won’t hear from the group again for a while, if ever: “We aren’t in a place to write another album together right now… We’re not closing off the option of playing together in the future if it feels right, but not for the foreseeable future.”

Priests have released two albums and one proper EP, and all of them kick ass. Their 2017 full-length debut Nothing Feels Natural is a straight-up classic, and I could probably say the same for the 2014 EP Bodies And Control And Money And Power. Their most recent album, this year’s The Seduction Of Kansas, has been relatively slept on. It should not be. Priests are also one of the great live bands currently in existence. We at Stereogum love them. Last year, they played our holiday party in Brooklyn, and they just ripped it.

For now, the last Priests show will be a New Years Eve set at Rough Trade in Brooklyn. It’ll apparently feature the “og priests lineup,” which means original bassist Taylor Mulitz, now of Flasher, is returning to the band. If you can go see them, you should. Check out their statement below.

After lots of talking about it, we have decided to take a break from Priests. We aren’t in a place to write another album together right now, and feel like each of us would be better served pursuing individual projects separately for the time being. We’ve come to this decision collectively and feel really good about it. We’re looking forward to being friends and partners in Sister Polygon, the record label we run together, and not bandmates for a while. We’re not closing off the option of playing together in the future if it feels right, but not for the foreseeable future.

This New Year’s Eve show at Rough Trade will be our last show for now. 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 simply been the 4 people playing on a stage. It’s very much an ecosystem of human interdependence and a variety of different life experiences.

This is a change that feels right for us, like the best way to honor all the work we’ve done and the support our fans have given to the band. To keep going when our heads and hearts are not in the place to do so feels like a disservice to the band and all the people that have helped us along the way. So instead, we’ll bid a very warm and celebratory farewell as this decade ends, and welcome whatever the next chapter may bring each of us together and separately.

In gratitude and immense love,
Priests

We’re taking a break from the band. Thank you for everything. Our last show together for the foreseeable future is the last night of the decade https://t.co/GQsp3ZKtFG come say hello (2020) & wave goodbye with us x pic.twitter.com/SxI9f95JvZ

— P R I E S T S (@PRIESTS_TWEET) December 12, 2019