As a rule, there's nothing more pathetic than an aging punk rock
band, but the Ex have never followed anyone else's rules. Instead, the combo
have blazed a defiantly independent trail; they've issued and distributed
their own records in Europe, booked their own tours, and developed an
inclusive musical vocabulary that draws as much from Eastern European folk
forms and the playfully contrary spirit of Dutch free improved music, as it
does from the punk rock that they first played nearly twenty years ago.
This album heralds two new alliances with similarly maverick entities, the
US label Touch and Go and Chicago-based recording engineer Steve Albini,
but you don't need to care about any of that to appreciate Starters
Alternators; the group's members may have their hearts in the right
place, but they're also one of the most exhilarating rock bands in
existence. A line from the record's first tune best sums up their sound -
it's "a beautiful frenzy." The Ex frame provocative, passionately declaimed
lyrics with lacerating, choppy guitar riffs and stark drum patterns.
Albini's recording captures the latter two with raw, unfiltered clarity.
This is the Ex's most unified and coherent record in years, and an
excellent introduction to their singular and uncompromising sound.
If you like The Ex, check out:
Dogfaced Hermans Hum Of Life
Irving Klaw Trio Utek Pahtoo Mogoi
Mekons I Have Been To Heaven And Back
Tortoise + The Ex In The Fishtank
