I have recently been enjoying the new EP from Meek and Mowbray (see last singles roundup I posted), The “Meek” of the duo is the never resting and highly talented CT Meek, poet, author, raconteur, lyricist, musician, entrepreneur, feel free to add your own descriptions to the list. The man seems to have an inexhaustible creative streak, judging by the copious amount of high quality material he endlessly produces. Countless of his own books and now into editing the 14th volume of collaborative book of poems and shorts stories, For the Many, Not the Few.
This work rate is also reflected in the output of the band Ex-, with 7 EPs and an album to their name. I have been fortunate to have seen the band live and managed to pick up all the EPs to date. If you haven’t been as fortunate – never fear! The band have rather handily compiled all the EPs onto one compact volume, cunningly titled Ex-Tracts (Ex.10), all 21 tracks from the EPs are present. And artwork is courtesy of a certain Stephen Scott, who recently provided the artwork for the Zips Huh? album.
Reviews
See some of my reviews of the EP tracks:
EP6
EP 6 is the latest release from the prolifically talented Meek and Co with EP 6 from Ex-. Once again, Ex-don’t disappoint. In fact, they have Ex-celled themselves on these 3 tracks. No mean feat considered their debut album Too Famous to Die could be classed as all killer, no filler.
The new EP features 3 tracks of Ex-traordinary, Ex-ceptional quality, with Meek’s vocals on these songs being amongst the best I’ve heard on all the bands releases.
Jungle Room kicks things off nicely with a driving guitar line with huge thumping beats at the chorus. Take Meeks advice and pump it up to maximum. “Someone turn up the volume, we’re stuck in a vacuum”. Next in Line is another slab of melodious verdant punk drawing the listener in with its insistent beat.
The tempo comes down slightly on the final, and my favourite, track on the EP, “No Means No”. The message is clear and influenced by much news coverage across the globe this year around the likes of #Metoo. Lynn Ainslie duets with Meek on this track which evokes the spirit of the New York sound of the Dolls/The Heartbreakers, with a vocal that to my ear could easily be Michael Monroe paired with Patti Smith. I love it.
EP7
I’m not sure if Meek ever sleeps. His creative juices seem to flow 24/7 – what with writing many of his own books and compiling the works of others in the “For the Many, Not the Few” series, now onto its 8th volume, the musical output from him (and the rest of Ex- of course) takes some beating.
The latest EP Ex- 7 is a case in point.
The three tracks here are of the now expected superior quality I’ve come to expect from Ex-, their melodic punk/NY garage-rock sounds complemented by Meek’s satisfying rich burr.
Ex- songs always have an intelligent lyric and an eminently memorable refrain or chorus. Why should this EP be any different?
The Big I Am
“For the Many, Not the Few” is the opening lyric on first track The Big I Am, a well-known uttering in recent years but, as Meek sings it was “stolen from Shelley by the Labour crew”. The urgent riffing is underlined by solid bass and thunderous kick drums. “Entertain us, educate us, innovate us…”
Redeemer
Another charged lyric in track two, Redeemer, with yet another memorable refrain in “Christ the Redeemer, they’re gonna crucify me.” Religion is questioned throughout against the backdrop of more addictive vital guitars and a sweet melodic bassline. “If I can’t see you, you can’t see me, If I can’t hear you, you can’t hear me, If I can’t understand you, you can’t understand me…”. Make up your own mind but enjoy the music nonetheless. Another quality tune.
Ready for Anything
Chiming guitars introduce last track, Ready for Anything, with a strong message of positivity and resilience. The light and shade between verse and chorus is evident, with the negative and destructive people encountered on a daily basis reflected in the verses – “You idiot, you just don’t get it, you’ve ruined everything we’ve worked for…” & “You’re a systematic hypocrite, you’re a two-faced backstabbing expletive…” These people are brushed off as a waste of time as the chorus kicks and soars, lifting the tempo and mood, and countering all the bullshit, “But I’m ready, ready for anything”.
Order Yours
Their album Too Famous To Die (EX4) sold out some time ago, but if you’re quick, you can get a limited re-release of this too (EX9)
Contact Meek and the band via their Facebook page.