Album Reviews

After having played countless shows in dive bars all over the US following the release of their self-titled album in 2012, Memphis’ Ex-Cult is back with “Midnight Passenger”. With a sound that can be found somewhere in the wasteland between hardcore (frontman Chris Shaw used to be in hardcore outfit Vile Nation), more psychedelic sounds, krautrock and proto-punk, this band has a lot going on. A whole lot actually.

Continually bordering on the edge of chaos, Ex-Cult locks in a groove in songs like “Ties You Up” and the title track but will just as well go for a more gothic vibe with “Catholic Entries”. “Flickering Eyes” on the other hand is like a punch to the face and one of the most straight-forward songs on the album, which says more about the rest of the album than about this song.

Maybe it’s because of the tracklisting, which feels a bit disjointed at times but  I found “Midnight Passenger” to be one of those albums that is good but because there is so much to process, it was easier to take in just a couple of songs at a time rather than the entire thing at once.