Ladies and gentlemen, the Ex-Gentlemen!

Here’s one for you fans of the “classic” Now Wave/Faster & Louder sound! Citing influences from early UK punk (Generation X, Stiff Little Fingers, Sham 69) and the power pop of the same era (Cheap Trick, Starjets), L.A.’s Ex-Gentlemen have “taken traditional power pop and blown a ’77 snot rocket on top”. Sweet! Where do I sign up?! And while bands sometimes come at you with a description like that but proceed to totally disappoint, The Ex-Gentlemen live up to every word of their billing. They really do bring back the old Gen X sound, and I think Billy Idol would have to be impressed. I can never get enough of shit like this: poppy ’77 style punk with anthemic choruses, massed backing vocals, and melodic guitar leads that get into your head and refuse to leave. Check out “Sunset Strip” or the video clip below, “Untouchables”. Pure gold, I say. Pure gold! This is a band that gets it. They’re not trying to change music or exploit a current market niche. They’re all about the music. Great songs in a classic style, done right, can never fail. I hope that we’ll be hearing much, much more from The Ex-Gentlemen!

- L.R.

http://www.reverbnation.com/theexgentlemen