Let’s begin by reinserting ourselves in a tired circumstance
Your best interest is my priority so stop ignoring me you can’t
Familiarising the instructions the various pictures, the many problems
Melbourne post-punk outfit EXEK announces a new album: the wryly sardonic Advertise Here,out tomorrow via Castle Face Records. Featuring vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Albert Wolski, guitarists Henry Wilson and Jai K Morris Smith, Valya YL Hooi on trumpet, bassist Ben Hepworth, drummers Chris Stephenson and Sam Dixon, violinist Waldemar Wolski, and Andrew Brocchi on synths, EXEK’s new offering expands their innovative, creative approach.
“I came up with the idea of EXEK when I still lived in Sydney over 7 years ago,” Wolski told The Big Takeover in a September 2019 interview. “I wanted to do a rock band that didn’t sound like a rock band. Where the typical sonic tropes were inverted; the drums having more effects than the guitars. Where diverse influences like dub, kraut, punk, jazz, hip hop, classical, no wave, soul all found refuge under the lazy umbrella term of ‘post punk’. …I still dig the name. It’s short for ‘executive’, and the K is just a cosmetic feature that looks sharp and solid when all letters are capitalized.”
Advertise Here is an eclectic, nihilistic hodge-podge of sonic influence, ranging from Krautrock to funk, the discordant hammering of industrial, to new wave pop sensibilities. We hear elements of the Fad Gadget brand of sneering dystopian satire, the mechanics of Einstürzende Neubauten, the disaffection and disdain of The Fall, and even a hint of Syd Barrett’s vocal delivery. The horn section brings an interestingly fluid free-jazz/no wave flavour to the music, as well.
For instance, “(I’m After) Your Best Interest” opens with a clanging cacophony and dissolves into a stream of consciousness poem against dissonant instruments. “Unseasonable Warmth” dives into neo-psychedelic noodling reminiscent of Pulp, Beck, and Forest For The Trees.
The album is highly unusual and innovative; like eerie transmissions from the future. We’re here in 2022, EXEK is floating somewhere in 3022.
Listen to Advertise Here below, and order here:
