Anyone familiar with the Ex's 20-plus-year history of punk rock, noise, social satire, and anarchism won't be able to help cracking a smile looking at the cover of their new record. The members of the band (G.W. Sok, An... more »dy, Terrie, Luc, and Katrin) are clad in nature observation gear on a city street, set against a backdrop that includes Burger King, McDonald's, and Heineken signs, among other pop-cultural artifacts. As the cover suggests, the Ex center their social scrutiny on commercialism. The album is riddled with harsh and humorous lyrical attacks on consumerism and pop culture ("Walt's Dizzyland"). The music is a beautiful barrage: drums trapped in an unrelenting rolling march, bass that thuds and throbs, and guitars that riff and skree from every possible direction. "The Chair Needs Paint," a blatant stab at pop music, features a stark yet melodic bass line with a chorus composed only of that infamous pop-music word, "la." Tracks like "Time Flies" and "Fistful of Feed," though, are where the Ex really excel--they threaten to cut that final thread holding a song together, and just when they convince you that it's all about to descend into chaos, they skillfully pull everything together again, leaving you satisfactorily dizzy. --Oakley Atterson« less
Anyone familiar with the Ex's 20-plus-year history of punk rock, noise, social satire, and anarchism won't be able to help cracking a smile looking at the cover of their new record. The members of the band (G.W. Sok, Andy, Terrie, Luc, and Katrin) are clad in nature observation gear on a city street, set against a backdrop that includes Burger King, McDonald's, and Heineken signs, among other pop-cultural artifacts. As the cover suggests, the Ex center their social scrutiny on commercialism. The album is riddled with harsh and humorous lyrical attacks on consumerism and pop culture ("Walt's Dizzyland"). The music is a beautiful barrage: drums trapped in an unrelenting rolling march, bass that thuds and throbs, and guitars that riff and skree from every possible direction. "The Chair Needs Paint," a blatant stab at pop music, features a stark yet melodic bass line with a chorus composed only of that infamous pop-music word, "la." Tracks like "Time Flies" and "Fistful of Feed," though, are where the Ex really excel--they threaten to cut that final thread holding a song together, and just when they convince you that it's all about to descend into chaos, they skillfully pull everything together again, leaving you satisfactorily dizzy. --Oakley Atterson
"On their 17th release Dizzy Spells, The Ex reach an apotheosis. Their counterculture ideologies are no longer the passionate (and often misguided) ranting of youth, but - for them - the hard truths of a tough-lived adulthood. Agree with them or not (and you should do both), their angular music makes its case - a mix of Virgin Prunes, early Mekons, Gang of Four, Sonic Youth, and At the Drive-In (all bands more famous than and influenced by The Ex). On "Walt's Dizzyland" they rip Disneyland - an easy target, yes, but always welcome, especially when done with such uncensored invective. On "Burnsome" they tackle worldwide publicity consultants who "master disaster". During the last track, "Little Atlas Heavyweight", they make a great joke of apathy wherein vocalist G.W. Sok - to exonerate himself for his political ignorance - comes up with a laundry list of lame excuses like "I had to save some whales", "I got struck in traffic", and then, the perfect liberal, promises "this time I'll send a check"!"
Punk for beefheart fans
Gordon Smith | san jose, ca United States | 05/14/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I just borrowed the ex's Mudbird Shivers album and liked it so much that I didn't think twice when I saw Dizzy Spells at the local record store. I enjoyed this album thoroughly and was impressed with the humor as well as the attitude and intellect. Maybe not as good as Mudbird, but real good. This band can play chaos and precision at the same time, not unlike Captain Beefheart and the magic band, though the Ex is more directly political... in a good way."
Love the Ex
K. Kenner | Brooklyn, NY | 07/06/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First off, I would like to thank KSPC Claremont for being so cool...without the Internet's webcasting capabilities, I doubt I would have even known about Dizzy Spells. Second, I am enthusiastically recommending this album...not only because I'm dutch and they're dutch, but more importantly, because it's proof that 45 year olds can still rock and rock hard. Musically, everything is perfect and interesting... the Ex does not fail to impress. There are cool bell sounds in the drumming, there are neato guitar sound effects (they have 2 guitarists) and the lead singer has a great, throaty, scream, aggravated by his politically charged lyrics. Stand-out tracks? The first one, "Town of Stone" is catchy. "Burnsome" is a powerful, make-you-think kind of song, and I believe they opened with it at their recent show in Seattle...it really captivated the crowd. I think my favorite, however, is "River," because the female drummer sings and she proves to be just as tough as Sok (the lead singer).If you like Fugazi's anti-consumerism, against corporate mergers type stuff, or if you're like me and you hate Disneyland, then you'll probably like Dizzy Spells."
My favorite record of 2001
Ludwig J. Pluralist | Beacon, NY USA | 11/21/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this band, and think that they are among the most unique in all the history of post-punk. Here, they manage to continue to grow artistically, even though there is a definite continuum from their earlier recordings to this one. Combining polyrhythms, atonal guitar noises, and brilliantly incisive lyrics makes for a great recording, my favorite of 2001.This is a great place to start for those who want to check out this band."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
