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Wind Up Records
Released: October 11, 2005 |
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The Exit
Life has not been normal this decade. The clock may have rolled over without a hitch in the year Y2K, but ever since then, living in the USA has been fraught with tragedy, tension and paranoia. It’s a time of upheaval reminiscent of the late ‘60s, but instead of providing a soundtrack for these troubled times, rock bands have been reluctant to get to the messy emotional truths of living in the 2000s.
Enter The Exit and their dynamic, haunting second album Home For An Island. The Exit isn’t preaching or trying to change the world, they’re simply doing what all great bands do: reflecting the times they live in with their music. There may be some cutting social commentary on Home For An Island, but it’s interwoven with songs about being in love and songs about being alive. Tthe ideas of songwriters Ben Brewer and Jeff DaRosa are given weight by the band’s music, which is every bit as evocative and powerful as the words. It’s an album that draws from the past – particularly in how different sounds and styles intermingle – but there’s a palpable freshness and strength to the band’s attitude that makes it utterly, unquestionably contemporary.
“This album is about rebellion. It’s about getting to what you feel inside yourself and questioning what the world is trying to turn you on to. It’s about trying to find love while everything else around you is falling apart,” says Brewer. DaRosa agrees, “It was a fucked up year when we were writing it. I was 21, living on my own for the first time and in New York City. “I was sitting in my room wondering what the hell is going on in this world. I would hide in my room and play the guitar on my four-track and not talk to anybody.”
The Exit function similarly to the Clash or Husker Du. Two individual songwriters, that each posses their own unique sound and point of view, while complimenting each other. If DaRosa’s work tends toward introspection, Brewer’s songs are searing and bold, while both attack affairs of the heart and matters of the world. In an age when new acts seem risk adverse, it’s exciting to have a band tackle big ideas. Grounded in punk rock, hints of dub reggae float through the minor-key melodies, pop hooks draw listeners into some dark places. “We want to create an ultimate mix tape every time we make an album,” says DaRosa.
Partially due to their extensive experience on the road – “We’ve played 385 shows in three years of touring,” says Gunnar, “We’re road warriors when it comes to it” – The Exit have developed into a band that are the farthest thing from predictable, as Home For An Island proves. At the same time, the album is rooted with songs that connect on a gut level. “I really believe in sincere songs,” explains DaRosa. “I’ve been finding it in a lot of folk music and that’s when I wrote Soldier,” a stark, spare song that is one of the highlights of the album. Even though Home For An Island roils with the upheaval from the first half of the first decade of the 21st Century, what makes the album timeless is how it speaks to the head and heart. As DaRosa says, “Everybody wants to have love.” Love and hope may not be easy to find these days, and they never come easy. The thing that makes Home For An Island such a captivating listen is that The Exit acknowledge that after all the turmoil and uproar, it is love and hope that make it all worthwhile.
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