The Exies - Inertia

There are three categories of music that seem to arise on a consistent basis. The first is innovative, ground-breaking, enthralling and typically quite rare. The second isn't exactly forging any new paths in the musical world, but it's enjoyable to listen to and while it doesn't neccasarily make you ravage the CD bins looking for anything and everything from the artist, it doesn't disappoint you to hear it either. The third category is the rest of the crap that's not only unlistenable, it's infuriating to hear and think that someone else may actually enjoy it. The Exies fall directly into category Number 2. However, being in category #2 doesn't mean that you're some mediocre artist that's writing the most run of the mill tunes that you can muster (though it can mean that), it just means that your songs aren't revolutionizing the music world just yet. The Exies Inertia is a big rock record. It's got the large guitar sound, the big drums, the driving bass, and the quintessential rock vocals - lush harmonies mixed with the occasional well placed scream-yell-sing. The first single from Inertia, "My Goddess", is a perfect example of this. The chorus is catchy, the riffs are big, and if you aren't giving at least the slightest head nod then you're just being stingy. Overall the album is pretty consistent with it's 3:00 - 3:30 format of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, etc. "Lo-Fi" is an exception to this formula and while I commend the band for breaking out a bit, it doesn't really work. "Genius" and "Creeper Kamikaze" have some excellent accompanying strings, a clever rock trick that never fails. Fortunately, songs like "Without" show that the band may be willing to incorporate some more industrial rock style sounds into their music in the future. The Exies have made an enjoyable rock record, and if they push themselves for the follow-up they may just be able to break some new ground. [www.theexies.com]