With the release of their fervently urgent, howling and bruising Midnight Passenger in 2014 and its follow-up Cigarette Machine, two efforts which drew from hardcore punk, psychedelia and thrash punk Memphis, TN-based punk band Ex-Cult emerged into the national scene while also becoming a JOVM mainstay artist. Now, it’s been a little while since we’ve heard from the band; however, August 12, 2016 will mark the release of the “Summer of Fear”/”1906” 7 inch through Famous Class Records.
The recently released “1906” off the forthcoming 7 inch is a tense, furious cover of The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band’s “1906”and as the band’s frontman Chris Shaw explained to the folks at Stereogum: “The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band have an amazing catalog of California psych/folk rock, but’1906′ has this downer, post-apocalyptic vibe that none of other songs come close to duplicating. The lyrics match some of the negative vibes we channel and the guitar stabs on ‘1906’ are a lot like some of the riffs we crank out on our own. It seemed like a natural fit.” Certainly, the Ex-Cult cover will further cement their burgeoning reputation for caustic and abrasive, post-apocalyptic, fucked up thrash punk that’s perfect for moshing in a dark, dank underground punk club.
Check out how the Ex-Cult cover compares with the original below: