Rips
Merge
2014
Rating: 7 piles of pork out of 10
It actually wasn't until I saw them live that I felt like writing anything about this Ex Hex record. Probably best known as one of Mary Timony's bands (not to intentionally give short shrift to bassist Betsy Wright and drummer Laura Harris, they're just not as well known), I listened to the album at first and just thought it was a decent, run-of-the-mill punkish power pop record that I might pop on the player here and there. Then the band played a local club with the also great Speedy Ortiz, and something about seeing these songs live totally brought them to life for me, no cheesiness intended. The band put on a really great performance, and something about that made the tracks...I dunno, catchier or more intriguing or something. It made me want to listen to this album a lot more, that's for sure. "Rips" feels like an album that could have been released in 1975, and that is a high compliment in my book.
Moreover, go see the band live when you get a chance if you like to have fun. If you do not like fun, there's probably a Mark Kozalek show somewhere.
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