PLEASE ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF: ExLovers

Despite being called boring by some drunken guy outside The Hamptons, Pete and his band mates, who together make up Exlovers, were funny and welcoming, with a hint of the kind of sarcasm which comes when you are comfortable with the group around you. I joined them just before their gig.

Can you describe yourselves in one word?

Laurel-Worried

Brooke-You’re worried? Well you are a worrier.

Dan-I’m indifferent. Can I really say that though?

Pete-Me and you have the same word don’t we Chris

Chris-Drunk

B-Maybe in the band context I would say…

P-Wizened

B- That’s good; I was going to say in a band context maybe dad.

How did you feel when you first stepped on stage together as a band?

C+P- we were pretty unsure

L-We’d only been practising for about three weeks before we had our first gig. I was kind of relieved that we didn’t play terribly.

B-I felt very good about it.

Do you have a personal favourite on your EP?

L-mine is ‘Incomplete’

B-Yeah mine’s ‘Incomplete’ as well, but it was a single before wasn’t it?

L-Yeah but it’s still on the EP

P-I quite like ‘New year’s Day’

Are there any messages you’re trying to get over to your fans?

P-No, not really

If there were what would they be?

L-Don’t drink and drive

P-Don’t take drugs, take your vitamins.

L-Yeah take your vitamins, that’s a good one

P-We’re not really into messages. I guess we all just like the pretention of playing simple music very simply.

B- How about keep coming to our live shows.

L-Yeah that’s the message

Who has influenced your music?

L: My Bloody Valentine

When I listen to your music I hear The Smiths.

P- Really? We like The Smiths but The Cure are more of an influence to our music

What do you think about the whole Morrissey thing this morning? (Morrissey had collapsed on stage the night before)

B-Oh I heard about that on the news this morning.

P-Apparently he was kneeling on one knee and holding flowers in one hand, that’s what I thought I heard on the radio, I had this really weird image of him just kneeling on the stage with flowers

B- We hope he gets better soon; perhaps he needs to take it easy

Which band would you most like to support?

P: Do they have to be alive, actually yeah, that would be a bit weird

B: I think Lemon heads is probably a good one.

Turning the tables, who would you like to support you?

P-Lemon heads.

L-What you mean as in someone famous?

P-Kurran and the Wolfnotes (They were touring with Kurran and the Wolfnotes at the time – ED)

B-Don’t be mean.

P- I wasn’t being mean. It was actually an attempt at being really nice, now you made me feel really mean.

L-Erm okay, someone famous. I don’t know though, I don’t think it would really work

D-if you held them in a high regard…

L-You don’t want to go after them everyone would have left

Where has been your favourite place to play so far?

P-Shepherds Bush; it was just an amazing place to play

You supported Pete Doherty, What was that like?

P-That was the Shepherds bush gig so it was pretty good. We heard loads of horror stories about people getting bottled.

L-Yeah so we were prepared to get covered in beer by loads of people, but actually we didn’t.

B-I heard that getting bottled is a sign of affection

L- Damn, they must’ve hated us

P-They wouldn’t even throw their bottles at us

Have you got any favourite bands at the moment?

P-Deer Hunter

L-PJ Harvey even though it isn’t really a new act.

C-I listen to a lot of local bands. I quite like Atlas Sound

You’re making an album at the moment aren’t you?

B-We aren’t making an album. We don’t have a record label so it makes that sort of stuff harder. But we are writing songs and stuff at the moment.

With that it was time for one last fag and a restringing of the guitar before their set began.

EXLOVERS Live in Southampton!

Despite driving for three hours, getting stuck in traffic somewhere between London and Southampton and a few problems with the sound at the beginning of their set Exlovers definitely left an impression, and not one of the bad variety.
Sure there were problems in the beginning and sure it made it difficult to hear what they were singing but nobody ran away screaming. They were compelling to watch and whereas you might not have seen people bobbing their heads along to the music, you saw people flocked around the stage watching and listening avidly as the penultimate band of the night began to unfold.
It was a shame that in some places it was difficult to hear the voices of Laurel and Pete over the mixture of guitars, drum and bass, which weaved together, to make an intriguing fusion of alternative pop and rock that quickly won over the audience. Yet when their voices were audible the songs truly came to life adding meaning to the otherwise pointless performance of the instruments.
Unfortunately the problems with sound meant it was hard to tell which song was being played, so it came as a great relief when ‘New Year’s Day’ started halfway through their set, grabbing the attention of everyone who had crammed themselves into The Hamptons for the Oxjam festival that was taking place throughout the night.
It was a quietly confident performance from a band relatively new to the scene and it seemed that people didn’t stay out of pity for them but to satisfy their own curiosity and it wouldn’t be surprising if they keep going back for more.

EXLOVERS – You Forget So Easily

Despite its title the new EP from Exlovers, released through Chess Club Records, ‘You Forget So Easily’ is something that is not actually easily forgotten. It becomes clear in the title track that Exlovers seem to share the same rare talent that The Smiths had, being able to cover pessimistic lyrics with an optimistic tune. It makes for a great introduction to what can only be described as a fantastically stable step up the music ladder for a severely underrated band. Adding to the overall greatness of the EP are the genius lyrics that Exlovers have scattered throughout their five tracks, of which ‘New Years Day’ is particularly outstanding. The compelling disjointed male and female vocals of ‘Incomplete’ oddly complement each other creating a memorable and unique track, and it seems a very hard one to follow. But then the haunting, melodic yet relaxing vocals of ‘The Moon Has Spoken’ appear, ending the EP with undeniably its best track. Although yet to make it ‘big’ it cannot be too long before Exlovers enjoy the success that they deserve, especially with a record like this tucked safely under their belt. They are certainly not a band to be forgotten.

VIDEODROME – 04/10/2009

We start this weeks roundup with the ever impressive Flood Of Red and their latest single ‘Home, Run(1997)’. These lads from Airdrie have a brand of intense, mesmeric rock that really excites us here at call Upon The Author! Exlovers are another band that have us pricking up our ears when they crop up on our stereos (stay tuned for a review of their EP later this week), and this is the video for ‘You Forget So Easily’, a cracking tune that is seeing repeated plays on our morning commutes into the office. The Humour are all pent up emotion and angst, served up on a bed of slightly funky alt.rock. It’s catchy stuff as you can see on ‘One More Drink’. ‘Time For Heroes’ might have a tongue in cheek video, but Juliet The Sun produce some lovely, Britpop style music that brings to mind classic Verve and early Oasis. Coming on with a sound like The Cure getting intimate with Arcade Fire while Ennio Morricone watches, Tigers That Talked are one of those special bands that appear from nowhere, fully-formed and with pocketfuls of ideas. Check out the gorgeous video to the lovely ‘Artificial Clouds’ and let us know what you think.