Exitstatements - s/t (Triple Eye Industries)

From the ashes of great bands, truly special bands occasionally arise. ExitStatements seem to have found a special formula with their debut album featuring Scott LaShay on guitar and vocals, Owen Stefaniak on bass and Kevin DeMars on drums. I’m not sure what the definition of a “power trio” is, but when all three members are playing such cool stuff that you can’t take your eyes off of them, that’s a pretty powerful feat to pull off. 

The album kicks off with a killer bassline, pounding toms, and hypnotic vocals in Letterhead. Since Stefaniak’s bass is doing so much heavy lifting, LaShay’s atmospheric guitar is free to explore a more complimentary role. Each subsequent song reinforces the theme that this is in fact an album, not just a collection of songs. Sometimes it’s worth forgoing the algorithms and just playing all of the songs that a band released on an album from start to finish. Who knew?!

I don’t want to say too much about each individual song only because there’s a certain magic in discovering what’s so special about them by listening for yourself. And if you’ve got the time to throw on a pair of decent headphones and focus your full attention on the music, you’ll be in for a real treat.

I will say that the last track on the album (Tessellation) is a favorite that will inspire some pretty fun air drumming, air guitar, and yes, air bass. It might also inspire you to check out all of the other bands that ExitStatements members have been in over the years, many of whom have releases still available from Triple Eye Industries. And as the music builds and crescendos, it should inspire you to keep an eye on what this band will do in the future. 

Recommended for fans of: June of 44, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Explosions in the Sky, Queens of the Stone Age