Jeez, almost every one of my favourite releases of 2012 I've posted about so far has grayscale cover art. Hardly bucking that trend is entry #6, Memphis punk band Ex-Cult's crude debut full-length Ex-Cult.Like a milder early Les Savy Fav, complete with vocals by Chris Shaw that echo Tim Harrington himself, Ex-Cult bring the noise with an album full of fierce hooks and frantic energy - ballasted by flat drums and fuzzy production. For some, filing down the band's teeth and dulling the album's overall energy in such a way casts unwanted restraint over what are, in essence, exuberant songs. No doubt, cleaner production would bring Ex-Cult to different level of life, but for me, the bleary production - scratching out details - obscuring them - engages me more; it makes me want more, but it forces me to fill in the gaps with sounds that are certainly influenced by what I can hear (obviously) but that ultimately arise from nowhere else but my own imagination. To that extent, Ex-Cult is an exercise in engagement - call-and-response - and I'm ready to shout until I’m hoarse.
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