Review: Ex Everything ‘Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart’
Noisy, angular and engaged, Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart is an urgent message from a skilled and experienced group of musicians, channelling Bay Area propulsion into a fierce observation of society, and a call to action.
Sitting at that juncture of noise-rock, chaotic and emotive hardcore, this could be a messy album, a swirling stew of too many ingredients and unharmonious flavours. However, the prevailing impression is of how taut the record is.
Feeling short at thirty-five minutes, the songs do not sprawl, despite giving room for experimentation in Jon Howell’s distinctive guitar patterns, while Andre Sanabria’s direct vocal approach keeps the songs immediate and grounded. Throw in an absolutely relentless rhythm section and Ex Everything are fully tooled-up, whether stomping along with concrete feet as in A Sermon In Praise Of Corruption or rattling along at pace as in Detonation In The Public Sphere.
There are uplifting moments such as the inspired shift that lifts Exiting The Vampire Castle from a dystopian complaint into a manifesto for change, or the way that Slow Cancellation Of The Future tumbles into its off-centre riff, sounding almost like Fatso Jetson at their most out-there-punk.
Coming late to writing about the record, a couple of months and a year-end since its release in November, I’m surprised not to have heard more noise about Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart or seen it feature more in the many Top-however-many lists the internet has to offer (or maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places…).
Jon Howell’s distinctive guitar patterns, while Andre Sanabria’s direct vocal approach keeps the songs immediate and grounded…
As a band with pedigree and Neurot Recordings backing, I would have thought that Ex Everything should be on the radar and click with various music listeners; the beard-stroky post-hardcore crew, punky noiseniks (whether hooked on AmRep classics or the new wave such as Coilguns), and those fresh sets of ears driving interest in ‘math-‘ and ‘emotive’ stuff in the vein of Birds In Row. Not, of course, to suggest that those categories are exclusive, or indeed the only people who may be interested in hearing what Ex Everything have to say!
With members active in other bands (Kowloon Walled City, Early Graves, Mercy Ties among others), it’s not clear what the future is for Ex Everything, I take hope in the fact that their official press statement at pains to state this is not a short-term project, and with the status ethos of ‘hope without action is meaningless’ I will keep watch for further recordings, or indeed for canny UK bookers to get them on a stage over here.
Label: Neurot Recordings
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Harry Holmes
