The Ex - 24 Problems
Runs for: 7:04
Last track on the album. It's catchy as hell!
I can't find a video on youtube for it so I hope soundcloud will do - click the song title.
This band is weird. It’s a good weird though. Ever tried to scratch the inside of your ear with a piece of dry spaghetti? Assuming you didn’t poke your eardrum, it’s a good weird. So is this album. At any rate though, we’re talking about a noise rock band from the Netherlands who's been around since 1979 that incorporates elements of ska, jazz and grunge (oh god if that doesn’t scream hipster taste…). The vocals are pretty smoothly delivered as opposed to other bands in the noise genre who opt for shouting most of the time which makes this a pretty easy, kinda funky listen. Keep in mind I’m not big on ska or grunge, and that one day I tried listening to jazz I almost set my external hard drive on fire out of rage.
Double Order is a pretty cool song. It’s one of those songs with a good rolling riff. I listen to it when walking through the mall and feel like I’m in a movie or something. It’s pretty catchy stuff, you want to start tapping your feet and bobbing your head while you ride up the escalator but at the same time you don’t want to be ‘that guy’. 24 Problems might be my favourite track and highlights the band’s strengths on the album.
A lot of the tracks on the album have a nice sort of snappy sound to it. It’s not in your face, but it’s really well constructed. The drums are really unusual and belt out some nice paced rhythms, the bass lines have got a certain funk to it that’s more complex and interesting – it doesn’t follow the guitar but rather it dances around the jazz horns. The guitar work is pretty clever in that they don’t belt it out all the time, instead opting to use it sparingly not unlike some bands which incorporate synth. It’s all a really unique mix and should challenge the listener’s perspective as to how music is created. Finally, it’s pretty cynical lyrically but the vocal delivery is very clean and easy on the ears and sort of counters the upbeat music The good thing about all this, is while it’s pretty different, it’s not too weird to make it a hard listen, kind of in the same way Fugazi could be a bit odd at times yet still make some awesome tracks. Matter of fact, if I had to name a similar band to these guys, I’d pick Fugazi first with Unwound second, based on the use of the horns.
Not all of it is great though. I believe Eoleyo is probably the one track I’d forcefully skip just based on the fact that a song based on, I think it's turkish folk? It does nothing for me. I see what they’re trying to do by imitating that style, but I just don’t find it appealing. It’s a problem when I stumble on albums like this, everything is kind of odd but interesting but then there’s that one track that just blows it for me meaning I can’t listen to the damn thing from start to finish. The rare occasions where this doesn’t happen result in those albums becoming my instant favourites.
That’s all I really have to say I suppose. Like I’ve been saying the whole time, weird but good. Give it a shot!
Reccomended for: Fans of Fugazi, Unwound, maybe fans of Phoenix or The Strokes if they started smoking a lot of crap and getting into noise rock. I don't fucking know.
The Ex - Double Order
Runs for: 5:52
This is also pretty catchy.
The repetition in lyric work is pretty interesting here I feel.
The Ex - Life Whining
Runs for: 3:24
Listen to that goddamn guitar! Lap it up!
LET IT RUN DOWN YOUR CHIN!
Maybe wipe that shit up afterwards you gotta keep up appearances.
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