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.

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