NERVOUS EXITS: Get Out
Full Length CD
$10.00
REVIEWS
Nervous Exits
Get Out
(Super Secret Records)
(REVIEW BY LORD RUTLEDGE)
Austin's Nervous Exits are one of those rare bands that manage to bring something distinctive and fresh to the punk rock n' roll genre. Get Out is their first album, and it quickly establishes them as one of the best up-and-coming rock n' roll bands out there right now.
The band's press release mentions the influence of the MC5 and Captain Beefheart, and I definitely hear that in their muscular rock/soul grooves and experimental/free-jamming tendencies. But I detect a larger, primary influence: back-to-the-basics rhythm & blues. It's their fusion of thunderous Detroit punk, raucous R & B, classic/southern rock, and borderline avant garde wanking that makes them "different". But it's the soulful, convictive delivery of singer John Yaklin that makes them worth hearing. Yaklin is a star in the making. The cat can really howl, and the fire and feeling of his voice are reinforced by the scorching guitars of AJ Sandavol and Patrick Travis, the latest 21st Century reincarnation of the Kramer/Smith juggernaut. Hell, all these guys can really fucking play...so well, in fact, that they can get away with a lot of jamming. I don't usually like bands that wank, but the Nervous Exits wank in such a way that sounds cool (if that makes sense). And when it's time to put the pedal to the medal and just blast it, these fellas kick it real good. Big-bang opener "It's A Flash" is a smokin', MC5-inspired rock-out. The extraordinary "Annabel" is boisterous blue-eyed soul meets free-jazz noise. "Long Road Home" is the song you'll wanna play for your classic rocker uncle who doubts that a "punk rock" band could ever make worthwhile music. From the early Replacements-like crash of "Can't Sit Tight" to the noisy art-school squall of the unlisted fifth track to the straight-up blues rock of "Sidewalk Blues", there's something on this album for just about everyone.
The Nervous Exits have got talent, and they sure have soul as well. Those are things that can't be taught or developed. They're either there from the start, or they just ain't there. This band has got it, and these guys are only going to get better over time. Look out for 'em!