Ex​-​Vöid – Ex​-​Vöid (EP Review, Stream)

Over the past 7 days, there have been full streams that found release with names like Yours Are The Only Ears, Adrian Teacher and The Suits, Boys, Liminal, Fennesz, Ivy Lab, Gutterbawl, The Body, Utah, Samara Lubelski, and Neighbor Lady attached. The recently-featured Ex​-​Vöid also got to unveil their new EP (which isn’t a single, a seemingly prevalent misconception), a self-titled three song burst of addictive post-punk shot through with confetti.

Fresh off the release of  Ex​-​Vöid‘s effortlessly charming lead-off track “Boyfriend”, the trio wasted no time in ushering out a concise EP. All of the sensibilities that Alanna McArdle and Owen Williams showcased as (now ex-) members of Joanna Gruesome are back on full display in Ex​-​Vöid. Gorgeous harmonies, a pitch-perfect balancing act of harsh noise and pristine tones, and a sense of playfulness embedded into relentless aggression, Ex​-​Vöid are more than winsome at first blush but reveal a surprising amount of layering, as does their first release.

Both “Anyone (Other Than U)” and “(Angry At You) Baby” are assured pieces of basement pop injected with enough punk bite to satisfy the genre’s die-hard loyalists. McArdle and Williams play off of each other to perfection, their voices working in tandem to strengthen each other. It’s the dichotomies, scales, and unity that defines Ex​-​Vöid, which presents the band as fully-formed, incredibly assured, and ready to conquer whatever comes their way. Easily one of the year’s strongest EP’s and unquestionably one of our best new bands.

Listen to Ex​-​Vöid below and pick it up from the band here.