“Yeah! I’m the king of the fucking world!” spits audacious vocalist Scott Lee Andrews in the toxic, ferocious ‘Juvenile Pacemaker’. Big words, but expose yourself to this phenomenal new release from Exit_International and you’re going to be more than ready to believe him.
These guys received no shortage of critical acclaim for their debut ‘Black Junk’ three years ago, but with ‘Our Science is Golden’ they’ve gone and created a raging speedball of rock insanity that’s going to blow your head off.
Forgoing the option of a six-string, Exit_International opt instead for a dual-bass attack which gives their psychotic, bludgeoning sound the heft it requires. Lee Andrew’s vocals meanwhile swing anywhere from bedevilled, Cobain style howling to gonzo singing and back to all out death metal shrieks. He sounds like System of a Down’s Serj Tankian on an acid trip.
Our Science Is Golden by Exit_International
The ride starts with ‘Weird Card’ which stomp-stomp-stomps into existence like some terrible malevolent entity bent on destroying nice things. It’s wonderful, and Lee Andrews rejoices in the mayhem chanting “Card play the card play the card play the weird card!” maniacally.
Next comes the outrageous ‘The Creeps’ which grabs a copy of Missy Elliot’s ‘Get Your Freak On’ and dives, laughing, headfirst into hell. It smashes off the sides all the way down to the sound of exploding metal riffs and arrives in the underworld whooping “CREEPS! You’re giving me the CREEPS! You’re giving me the CREEPS!”
There’s absolutely no interest displayed at any point in giving the listener’s senses time to recover. Token ballads or foot-off-the-gas slow burners are not welcome here. Instead you’re getting 12 tracks of white hot searing intensity, and you’re going to like it. That’s what makes this record so appealing.
‘Nitro Zoo’, if anything, raises the bar three songs in; a hurdy-gurdy carousel of horror with a chorus catchy enough to genuinely trouble the charts. You hear so many albums these days where it feels like they stopped bothering halfway through, but ‘Our Science is Golden’ gets better, faster and wilder.
The jewel in the crown is bang on the halfway mark. ‘Kojak Rollkneck’ is an absolutely wonderful, batshit mental masterpiece. The first time you listen you’ll probably just be left with a raised eyebrow wondering what just happened. The second time you’ll be in love with its schizophrenic perfectness.
You become conscious when gushing about an album in this manner that you’re starting to sound like a press release. But at a time when no one in rock music is willing to really take a risk, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear something that sounds genuinely dangerous.
There are going to be those who cannot connect. Exit_International know they’re being bad, and you can definitely feel a sense of Marilyn Manson-esque theatrical insurgency to their sound. This is going to be construed as disingenuous by some, but unfairly. There are bands who are ‘K-razy’ and then these guys – genuine card-carrying asylum defectors.
The aforementioned ‘Juvenile Pacemaker’ keeps the latter half of the record at full tilt by firing a rocket up its backside before ‘F.L.T.’ turns the sleaze dial up to 11 as Lee Andrews asks insalubriously “Where did you learn to fuck like that?” Just before the show ends, the final twist of the knife is ‘Sod Off Punk’: a defiant, scoffing confirmation that this is a band who have zero interest in the labels placed on them by reviewers like me.
If you’re into stuff like Refused, Pulled Apart By Horses or The Bronx, then there’s pretty much no doubt this is going to rock your world, but actually just listen to it anyway because Exit_International are a hugely exciting and talented British outfit, and ‘Our Science is Golden’ is the ultimate rock’n’roll antidote to your boring sanity.
5/5
‘Our Science Is Golden’ by Exit_International is released on 3rd March on StandardSeventyPercent.
Exit_International links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Alex Phelan (@listen_to_alex)
