Review: Exit Calm - Exit Calm

Rewind back to 2006 and Exit Calm hardly existed. Struggling local heroes that had yet to approach anything resembling the big time and, after a sudden break-up, lacking a front man and a leader.
But come screaming back into the present and Exit Calm are on their way up fast. They’ve found an excellent frontman in Nicky Smith and after releasing their self-titled debut last Monday (17th May), have set the bar high for this summer’s new music.

Happily for you dear readers, I am fortunate enough to posses a copy of this album and after a few weeks of digestion and appreciation, I’m going to share my thoughts with the (English-speaking) world.

The album starts as it means to go on (and actually how it is the whole way through) with six-minute opener You've Got It All Wrong which, from the moment the atmospheric guitars home into view, is a pounding and ethereal journey through musical space. The album is produced to the bands strengths (by UNKLE collaborator Paddy Byrne don't you know) and forms an integral part of the overall sound of the album, which is evidenced on this first track. Not only does the song stand out, but the way guitars drift across the mix and wash into the drums is something that really enhances it. Many parts pay only fleeting visits but it’s these extra attentions to detail that expand the song and pull you in.

When You Realise is a ballad of sorts (it’s a bit slower) that recalls Ocean Rain era Echo & the Bunnymen and one of my personal favourites, Reference, is a powerful and intense song that has all the good flavours of The Verve and Mainly Genius stalwarts The Boxer Rebellion, but with a kind of downward pressure that makes the listener really sit up and take notice.

However, Exit Calm are a smart band and it’s no coincidence that current single Hearts and Minds is the outstanding track from the album. It’s got the strongest melody and is the track where everything seems to click into place. The bass and drums anchor the song and form a concrete base on which atmospheric guitars dart and cascade under Nicky Smith’s floating melody. He declares “It’s a fight between your heart and mind” as the song gradually comes to a raucous conclusion that serves up massive drums and huge guitars in spades.

One criticism that has been levelled at the band is repetition. There is a very set and rigid sound that they’ve adopted and a departure from the constant drums might've helped to break up the album and bring it back down to Earth. To be frank though, I’m not sure I really agree with that especially considering the beautiful (and yes, atmospheric) closing track Serenity. Exit Calm is what it is and that’s an atmospheric, powerful and ethereal journey of great songs. If you’re expecting variety then that can be found elsewhere.

Like many before them, Exit Calm will probably be declared Britain’s latest great band, but this time there could be a small grain of truth hidden away somewhere in that statement. The album they’ve produced is a fantastically epic and atmospheric journey through space and shows a real knack for melody and a confident and slightly unique sound that really deserves success. If you’re a fan of Interpol, Editors or any number of similar bands I urge you to give this album a go, you won’t regret it.

Exit Calm are on tour throughout the summer and you can find tour dates and purchase the album on their website or myspace. If you head to the Mother-Blog on Wordpress, you can hear current single and album highlight Hearts and Minds and also the beautiful closer Serenity.

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Lyrics of the Week #2: The Boxer Rebellion - Flashing Red Light Means Go

Yep, week two has arrived already and I’ve not got bored of this series just yet. This week’s entry comes from Mainly Genius favourites The Boxer Rebellion. They're the band that words such as “spacious” and “really fucking massive area-sized rock” were made for (as my review of 2nd album Union will attest).

So why this song? Well for a start, the song itself is corker. Starting with tumbling drums and Nathan Nicholson’s instantly graceful vocals, an acoustic guitar slowly builds into a frantic and busy chorus before the song ends with another soaring crescendo and is bookended by Piers Hewitt’s excellent, jumpy drums.

However, the lyrics are the reason why we’re here though and it’s the opening two verses that I wanted focus my attention on. They're about love (and the loss thereof) there’s no doubting that, but what sets them apart is the view of love that the lyrics suggest:

“What’s the use in my advice that you just turn down?
Swaying to a serenade, you never hear a sound.
But I know you know now.

Generate the false alarms; the verdict: counterfeit.
Flashing lights to bring you back from who you’re running with.
But I know you know now”

The narrator isn’t longing for a lost love or expressing his feelings about a broken relationship. It seems that he longs to protect more than anything else.
Beginning by bemoaning the fact that he is never listened to, he then proceeds to suggest that the former love is crying for help by generating “false alarms” and that only “flashing lights”, presumably those of a police car or similar, can bring her back and enable his protection.

The final line of each verse is interesting and as well as telling us of the relationship that once was, also contains a hint of the feelings that are still present. In saying that “I know you now”, it suggests that he sees through any charade that may be occurring and is only interested in protecting and helping.

So all in all, an interesting and clever set of words and in a style that really sums up the album well. The Boxer Rebellion aren’t happy with straightforward lyrics and the alternative angle and clever wording really help to enhance what is already a fantastic record.

You can hear Flashing Red Light Means Go in it’s entirety on the Mother-Blog over at Wordpress, and don’t forget to purchase Union, the fantastic album from which it is taken.

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South By Southwest 2010

Here’s a novelty: me talking about something up-to-date and cool. In fact, either would warrant stopping the presses (or at least suspending them for a short time) and, as reviews of Kate Bush and Simple Minds will attest, it’s not often that I find myself on the cusp of musical trendiness.

However, today is different. Starting this Wednesday is the South By Southwest (SXSW) music & film festival and, having recently looked at the Black Atlantic’s latest offering, I thought I’d go ahead and see who else is occupying this years line-up and in the process, bring myself kicking and screaming into the musical present.

Hosted in Austin Texas, SXSW is now 23 years old and firmly established in the elite league of festivals in the US. For any Brits who are unsure, it’s closest equivalent back in Blighty is the Great Escape Festival held every year in Brighton. Both feature a variety of bands big and small, rock and electronic, loud and quiet, across a number of different venues in the city all under one banner. SXSW also has an ever-growing film and technology arm but, as a music blog, I will be skimming over that particular aspect.

So, onto this years attractions. Below are a few names out of the 100s performing that jumped out at me. Some you might know and some you might not know but all of them start to give me itchy feet and a sudden want to visit Texas next weekend.




Find the bands, the verdict and a couple of MP3s over at the Mother-Blog hosted on Wordpress.

Don't forget to visit the official SXSW site where you can find all the details for bands, tickets and venues.

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(Audio) The Boxer Rebellion - Soviets

Taken from the aforementioned album, Union.

An excellent track that not only showcases a great melody, but also a lyrical maturity that matches up with the enchanting falsettos and spacious guitar sounds.

Listen on Tumblr

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Review: Boxer Rebellion – Union

Before we begin, a heartwarming tale:

In 2003, The Boxer Rebellion looked set for big things. They played ahead of Keane at Glastonbury, signed with Britpop supremo Alan McGee and won themselves a support slot with The Killers.

But just as things were taking off, lead singer Nathan Nicholson became very ill and the band was forced to suspend all activities, including touring.

Fast-forward two years and the band finally released debut album Exits to a very favourable critical reception and, as before, they looked destined for success.
Just two weeks later, their record label imploded leaving the band with no label, no backing and no money.

Now here comes the heartwarming bit.

In January of this year, after lead single Evacuate was made available for free on iTunes, self-financed second album Union, became an overnight success. It shot up the download charts and just five days after release, it was number one in the US and number four in the UK. In it’s first week it outsold Kings of Leon, Coldplay and MGMT. It didn’t just match them, it outsold them.

Union got it’s long-awaited physical release on this side of the pond in September and to commemorate this (and the fact that it’s really very good) I thought I’d check it out.

Let me be straight with you, Union is excellent. And I’m so pleased. Reaching the top of any chart requires some kind of quality control, but it would’ve been very easy for the all the hype to get a little out of hand. Thankfully, it justifies itself with room to spare.

Union sets it’s stall out from the very beginning, making clear from the moment the galloping drums of opening track Flashing Red Light Means Go enter, we’re set for lush, arena-sized rock that recalls both Sigur Rós and Radiohead in their prime.

Acoustic layers eventually give way to a enchanting falsetto of “Tell us why you’re leaving” before all too soon we’re onto second track Move On. Signature galloping drums signify more of the same, which is really no bad thing. Lead singer Nicholson sings an aggressive refrain of “move on”, cleverly positioned in contrast to the previous track’s sentiment but proving no less effective.

Lead single Evacuate is quite easily the stand out track, and features more than one killer hook. After an unsure and lamenting verse, the chorus heralds a realisation. Jumping up a gear, Nicholson sings:

“Wait. When there’s nothing left to waste.
On a promise I can make.
You don’t want no one this way. Wait”

No longer unsteady, the singer knows what is required. The music straightens and fills out to form an excellent backdrop for the strained melodies.

Album tracks Misplaced, Semi Automatic and album closer Silent Movie, show a darker side to the band, allowing the exceptional lyrics to realise their true potential before almost always drawing to a thumping and, there’s that word again, arena-sized close.

It must be said that by the time we reach seventh track, Forces, the galloping drums begin to get tiresome and, despite the track’s killer chorus, make the song sound more predictable and laboured than perhaps it should.

Similarly, the guitars are superb for the most part, but as we move towards the album’s conclusion, there is a growing feeling of déjà vu that places tracks such as Semi Automatic in the bracket labeled ‘Album Tracks’. If the song were stripped to it’s bare bones, this would seem a wholly unfair assessment but, as before, there is a slight underlying sense of autopilot.

However, these are small and insignificant points. The soaring melodies and enchanting falsettos more than make up for any shortcomings and lyrically, the band are at a stage that many bands twice their age have yet to reach.

Frantic, dark and heart-wrenching all at the same time, it’s not difficult to see why Union propelled The Boxer Rebellion into the musical limelight and up the charts. Here is proof that maybe hard graft and top quality music can win through in the end.

Feeling heartwarmed yet? I certainly am.

Please visit them at: www.theboxerrebellion.com

Or buy on iTunes

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