Maudlin is the longstanding creative project of husband and wife duo David and Priscilla Priebe.  The couple came together while playing in a high school band. Taking its name, they settled in Minneapolis.  The band signed with a Canadian indie label and briefly toured internationally under their support. Upon returning home in 2005 and independently releasing “The Penitent Never Regret,” their first US commercial release which fared well in the CMJ Charts.             

In 2008 the band release their sophomore album, “Maudlin and the Second Law of Thermodynamics,” which solidified their reputation for writing edgy and upbeat songs about the melancholy human experience and things that “go bump” in the night.  Praised by both DJs (The Current’s Barb Abney’s pick for most underrated album of the year) and promoters alike from all over the states, the band began playing nationally and soon gained further notoriety for their wild, yet charming, live shows. 

Continuing to play out heavily, the band made regular appearances at major festivals such as CMJ’s Music Marathon in, NYC, Summerfest, SXSW, Red Gorilla, The UMS, MWMF, The Minnesota State Fair, Minneapolis’s Zombie Pub Crawl (the largest in the world,) First Avenue’s Main Room, as well as countless other festivals, colleges, clubs, radio and TVs shows and one, very bizarre and comical performance at the 2008 Republican National Convention.  Fans have come to expect quirky and memorable live shows and signature events, such as their Illuminati puppet series and “Maudlin presents: The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever,” a program that annually delivers exactly what it claims.

In 2012 the band announced that Priscilla was pregnant, and they cut back on live performances, mainly appearing at key festivals and local venues.  Presently the band has begun playing out with a new lineup adding drummer Whelan Keenan and is preparing for their first label release in a decade, set for 2015. 

 

PRESS

Maudlin, meanwhile, recalls the ’90s without spewing up the grunge thing — reminding  of everything great about the ’90s but not the faddish, sludgy areas that sound so dated now. Maudlin’s debut disc had a few holes here and there, but Second Law is tighter than a drum, better production, better lyrics, catchier hooks–the works. They’re not following trends and they don’t seem to have an agenda that extends beyond wanting to play live music in any arena offered to them. David and Priscilla Priebe traded vocal duties during the set — he sounding equally ready for a fight or a therapy session (to say nothing of the giddy, celebratory manner in which guitar he smashed to pieces at the set’s denouement) and she sounding like a less heroin-addicted Kim Deal. Drummer Jason Nelson assaulted his drums like he needed an excuse for a new kit and was drenched in sweat by the close of the set–these guys want something not necessarily from the audience but certainly from themselves, it seems. - Pat O'Brien, City Pages

I expected to just check out one or two songs from Maudlin and then hit the road but after the first song I knew I was there until they were done. - Music Scene Mpls

“Maudlin changes up styles and tempos throughout The Second Law of Thermodynamics, and while the potential is there for an album by a lesser band to become disjointed, Maudlin has the talent to make it work.” – Sean Brown, Rift Magazine 

“David and Priscilla’s apt vocal interplay and impeccably crafted pop songs energize! I struck gold when I stumbled upon Maudlin’s mp3 for “Dancecaster.” The song, which could easily pass for a Pixies-era Kim Deal composition, immediately rose to the top of my esteemed playlist. I was already singing along by the second listen; by the third I was officially addicted… “ – Dinosaur in Trouble

“The band is a blitz of post punk, guitar smashing, wreck the train Rock and Roll that has not been seen since the glory days of CBGB. Behind all the Rock and Roll stance is a band with big brains and big hearts. “ – Rock The Cause Website

Need a new favorite band? Try on St. Paul’s Maudlin for size. Raised on a steady diet of the Pixies (and every other Frank Black or Kim Deal side project, for that matter), you best believe the group’s twin vocalists, David and Priscilla Priebe, know a thing or two about post-punk and slightly off-kilter power pop. 
– Matthew R. Perrine Budgeteer News