Record Review: Moving Units - Hexes for Exes

October 17, 2007 by Ben  Send to a Friend

Anytime I read music reviews I wish I could see a quick blurb on the critic’s taste, like what else they are digging/not digging to see if we sync up. So we’re gonna start doing that more:

Ben is playing the hell out of Ears Like Golden Bats by My Teenage Stride while ignoring the bland, tribal garbage that is M.I.A’s Kala.
He went to see Shout Out Out Out last night at the Rock and Roll Hotel, and thinks you should have too.

I agree, Shout Out Out Out rocked all 20 people in that room. But Kala is great dude.
-cale

Rating system
0 stars - Complete and utter garbage
1 star - Best just not to ever press play, save your ears for another day
2 stars - Not completely atrocious, but one you’ll probably forget about as soon as it’s over
3 stars - Good, but not great, likely with some excellent songs and others you’ll skip right through
4 stars - Damn good album, one you’ll definitely want to enjoy again and again
5 stars - Instant Classic

3.5 stars

Back when Dangerous Dreams by the Moving Units dropped in 2003, I was too busy finishing high school and mixing the band up with The Faint to give them any serious attention. It wasn’t until half-way through college that I discovered what a gem that record was - songs like “Going For Adds” and “Between Us and Them” are impeccable anthems eager to pounce on unsuspecting ears.

The news is good - Hexes for Exes - the band’s next effort, is pretty great, although it doesn’t blatantly pulsate with addicting baselines and Joel Petersen-esque vocals like the previous record does. Instead, Hexes for Exes is a record that blatantly shows where the group looks to for inspiration - even if it is a bit obvious at times.

The group’s single, “Crash and Burn Victims,” starts off a little gothy for the first minute or so, until lead singer Blake Miller belts out “We’re so vain,” causing the beat to quickly become self-conscious and morph into a series of bloops and bleeps inspired by dark French disco. The ingenious transformation gives the song a human quality, as if it’s rapidly shifting in order to impress the cute girl in the room.

“Hearts Departed” is a little different than the Moving Units we’re used to - and this one is a bit of a slip. The band ditches the gloom rock attitude for a rough acoustic guitar with terrible production values - this thing sounds like it’s being recorded in an empty church, and it doesn’t evoke any of those happy memories Svetlana likes to think about when she dreams about Devandra Barnhart at night. It’s clearly one of those efforts where the band tries to show that they’re “deep, and capable of so much more than rock and roll,” complete with uncomfortable moans of despair at the end of the song. Yuck. Sorry, guys - this ain’t your bag. Stick with what you’re good at.

On the other side of the spectrum, the accompaniment behind “Pink Thoughts” could be mistaken for early Cure, while the vocals are quicker and quippier than Robert Smith would’ve preferred. “The Kids From Orange County” is straight zombie-rock that’s tough to swallow if you’ve heard the band before, but easier to digest if you’ve new to the music - it’s just such a drastic swing, like Bjork recording a rap song. Or John McCain voting for SCHIP. Take your pick.

Hexes For Exes isn’t a record you’ll immediately fall in love with. But spend some time with it, and it’ll grow on you - provided the darker tones of the record won’t turn you off. If the dance-punk synth lines are what attracted you to the Moving Units, don’t even bother with this record. But if you came to rock out, Hexes For Exes will welcome you with open arms.

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