ExDetectives versus The Rhone Occupation

Having seen the wonderful Warpaint and The Happy Hollows last week, let's catch up with two other great bands on the LA scene I tipped for good times in 2009 in my December post Lost in the stars... The bands in question are ExDetectives and The Rhone Occupation, and both have 5 track EPs coming out...

ExDetectives - Closing Bell EP:



The title track 'Closing Bell' sounds like it could have been the undiscovered diamond that never made it onto C86 - all jangly guitars and fragile vocals. It's also probably their most commercial (and I think their best) song. 'Won't Stop' starts with a wonderfully shimmering guitar phrase that almost make you feel woosy in it's stereophonic brilliance as the song kicks into a Radiohead type intro. The chorus has shades of My Bloody Valentine with the male/female vocal combination and this is a recurring theme on the EP. 'Crown' sounds like a cross between Radioheads 'No Surprises' and Bowie's 'Soul Love' but despite such lofty comparisons is a great song... Some ambient guitar colors and a catchy bassline introduce 'Golden', which sounds quite menacing and claustrophic in places - its oxymoronic title belying the dark nature of the song, which has some textured guitar fx that could have come right out of 'Unknown Pleasures'. The late 60's garage feel of 'Return' is a little at odds with the rest of the EP but there are some cool touches here too...

The ExDetectives EP is streaming at ExDetectives.com and will be available soon...

The Rhone Occupation - Would It Kill You To Talk This Out



'I Know I Did You Wrong' starts with some delay effects and leaps right into a jaunty toe-tapper that sounds like a cross between early REM and (strangely) The Jazz Butcher or The Woodentops, but with Thom Yorke on vocals... More Radiohead comparisons abound with the second track 'Would It Kill You To Talk This Out' which is a little too close to the feel of 'Exit Music (For A Film)' and being a slow song would have been better suited later in the EP. However, it is a great song and being compared to a song from one of the best LPs ever made can't be all bad. 'The Worst of Me' skips along like another Radiohead song 'Electioneering' (also from Ok Computer) and this leads us into the best song on the EP: 'A Place'. Singer Jacob Summers loses the Thom Yorke stylings and veers towards Death Cab for Cutie territory over a gorgeous and brilliantly produced backing track with some heavenly synths, shiny guitars and subtle percussion. Finally, the appropriately named 'Stop' closes the EP, another slow song with shades of The Jazz Butcher Conspiracys 'Still in the kitchen' and hints of the Trashcan Sinatras in the chorus harmonies.

The Rhone Occupation EP is available for free download from their website...

Overall two great EP's full of promise. Both bands are obviously influenced by Radiohead but I think ExDetectives get away with this more as singer Faris McReynolds sounds nothing like Thom Yorke. Both EP's are excellently produced and the musicianship is first class. The Rhone Occupation sound more like the finished article in terms of studio sound and experience but sometimes the journey is as interesting as the destination. Also, the ExDetectives cover is a lot better...