Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sex Execs - s/t

Name: Sex Execs
Album: s/t
Year: 1982
Style: New Wave, College Radio
Similar Bands: Talking Heads, Tears for Fears+English Beat, Bram Tchaikovsky, Boys Brigade
One Word Review: Overproduced Jitter
Based Out Of: Boston, MA
Label: Self Released
 Sex Execs: Cover & Record
Sex Execs: Back & Record
Sex Execs (1982)
  1. Tami-it-is 2:20
  2. Your Whole Life 2:01 /
  3. Martini Time 3:39
  4. Supply & Demand 3:22
Album Rating (1-10): 7.0


Members & Other bands:
Paul Kolderie - Producer (Goober & the Peas, producer of too many bands to note)
Dan Johnsen
Andre Barnaby 
Sean Slade (Uncle Tupelo) (many more projects)
Walter Clay
Ted Pine
Lee Z Toft - Trumpet
Paul Mufson - Producer, Engineer
John Nagy - Mastering
Steven Stone - Photos
Klare Hollender - Asst. Engineer
Brian Ales - Asst. Engineer
Danda Stein - Asst. Engineer

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band. But from the picture on the front of this EP, they look like a cocky-smart new wave college band with extensively clever use of sax and brass. 1982 is a good year for this style of music, so I can only guess the music is pretty catchy yet quirky, with a dose of angsty emotion.


Album Review: So these guys are basically responsible, after the break up of the band, for the very famous Fort Apache recording studios, and after it moved, still ran/run the original location, revised to be called Camp Street Studios. They also were follow up finalists in the 1983 WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble., but ended up losing to an at-the-time up and coming band ‘Til Tuesday (Aimee Mann).

“Tami-it-is” kicks in instrument by instrument, starting with a strumming guitar and a drum beat. The vocals come in about 30 seconds in, reminding me a little of David Byrne. There are a lot of minor notes and angular melodies. The song is very driving with a jittery nervousness.
“Your Whole Life” is a little more straightforward of a pop song, but it is still fast in a 33 played at 45 sort of way. The song is a little more slick, adding a little Tears for Fears style in the vocals.
“Martini Time” Has a more new wave feel to it. The Tears for Fears smooth vocals float over the music, which possess a dialed back nervous tempo. It is a danceable song, in line with David Bowie’s “Golden Years.”
“Supply & Demand” starts off with a devo-jittery start stop guitar and drum off beat pairing. The sax is used as a great melody accent. The song feels like it is building up to a nice relieving chorus. The bridge of the chorus is actually a stronger, catchier hook than the chorus, which is repetitive and simple, and works as the climactic come down from the bridge.
This is a fun EP, but something about the production makes it feel cold and sterile. I wanted it to be better than it was, and I bet they were better live than what is represented on the EP.


Stand Out Track: Supply & Demand

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