Heartbreaking Bravery

First off, sincerest apologies for the gap in content posting. Much of the delay is due to an issue that’s close to being resolved and will (finally) result in the posting of the 13th Watch This installment. Apologies aside, the lack of content means there were a few things that slipped through the radar and couldn’t be given a timely post. That’s where ragged Midwest punk-leaning powerpop staples Archie Powell & the Exports come in. “Everything’s Fucked” (an appropriate sentiment for the current delay situation)  is the first track the band’s allowed the public of their upcoming Back in Black LP, a follow up to the extraordinary Great Ideas in Action.

If “Everything’s Fucked” is indicative of the rest of Back in Black then the band’s grown even more incendiary over the brief amount of time that’s lapsed. Everything that made their past work so worthwhile is retained in full but there’s a greater urgency in the band’s controlled chaos. From the distorted acoustic opening chords through to the explosive finale, that noticeably elevated urgency drives the song off the rails and charts its own damn course. Considering everyone sounds like they were lit on fire before someone hit record, the fact that the studio didn’t burn to the ground when this thing was tracked is kind of astonishing. There’s a reckless go-for-broke mentality that permeates “Everything’s Fucked” which makes it one of the most infectious things the band’s ever done. Frantic and catchy as hell, “Everything’s Fucked” just might be an apt example of the band’s manic determination. If that winds up as being even half as propulsive as “Everything’s Fucked”, they may just generate enough momentum to push them onto much bigger things. Keep both eyes out, lock up the children, and listen to “Everything’s Fucked” below.