Rips

Rips, by Ex Hex, is a throwback. It could have made been in any decade from the '60s on, as it's three players--guitars, bass, and drums, and the lyrics (from what I could understand) seem to be universal, undated themes, like love and fighting for what you believe in.

Ex Hex is one of the branches from the Sleater-Kinney tree, although you wouldn't know it from the liner notes--there are no writing credits, lyrics, or even a list of the band mates. From Wikipedia I learn that they are: Mary Timony, Betsy Wright, and Laura Harris. Timony used to be in a very good group called Helium, and then made one album with Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein in a group called Wild Flag. To further confuse things, Timony made a solo album called Ex Hex, a pair of words that apparently mean a lot to her.

Despite the mystery, there's nothing complicated about Rips, and that is to be praised to the sky. As I sit grumpily in the car, while my girlfriend listens to contemporary pop, hip-hop, or country, I wonder whether rock and roll exists anymore. It may not on the radio, but it can be found. Ironically, one of the better songs on this record is "Radio On," which may be a joke. There used to be all sorts of rock songs about radio, so I can only imagine this one is nostalgia.

Another good one is "Hot and Cold," which has a riff that seems to pay a homage to Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane," and "New Kid," in which a presumably new kid is told "you're a warrior."

When you Google Ex Hex and get the description of their Web site (www.exhexband.com) it says, "Ex Hex is what your older brother's friends listened to. It's what your babysitters listened to." That's exactly right. None of the songs are much over three minutes, and even while listening to it on CD you can imagine the needle sliding across the vinyl, maybe with a penny placed on the tone-arm. Ah, the good old days, kept alive by the likes of Ex Hex. Long may they thrive.