Hometown Sounds

Ex Hex videos are often visual feasts, but “Rainbow Shiner” really amplifies the lyrics in gloriously colorful style. Director M. Wartella turns the feminist anthem against physical abuse into a stylish, Skittles-hued treat of Besty Wright, Mary Timony and Laura Harris’s faces covered in makeup and animation. The video matches and enhances the mid-tempo pulsing beat without ever becoming garish or, god forbid, boring. If you missed Ex Hex’s headlining gig at the 9:30 Club last week for the sophomore album It’s Real, we hope you did something pretty amazing instead.

Yesterday power rock trio Ex Hex released the first music video from their sophomore album It’s Real. “Tough Enough”, directed by Brandon Herman, is a strange video that tackles the threat of nuclear war with a dose of camp. We don’t like to summarize videos you’re about to watch, but go in prepared for some eyerolls at the end. The bits with Mary Timony, Betsy Wright and Laura Harris rocking out together remind us how long it feels to wait 5 years for the follow up to their debut album Rips feels. Their spring tour hits DC at the 9:30 Club on May 10th with opening sets from The Messthetics (!!) and Clear Channel, so don’t sleep on those tix when they’re released.

With a band like Ex Hex, expectations for their music videos are naturally sky high. This killer video for “Don’t Wanna Lose”, the tone-setting lead-off track from 2014’s breakout album Rips, is already a strong candidate for DC music video of the year. Lara Gallager, director of Ex Hex’s dinner-party-with-Svenonious video “Hot and Cold”, takes the helm again and delivers this amazing tribute to Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, a 1982 cult film about three teenage girls who start a punk band, directed by Lou Adler. You’ve probably never seen this classic, so add it to your Amazon Prime Instant Video queue now!

My complaint about most DC rock bands is that they take themselves and their music far too seriously. The ladies of DC’s newest sensation Ex Hex are a breath of fresh air. Laura Harris, Betsy Wright and Mary Timony, veterans of many notable DC bands, are clearly having a blast rocking out together and their enthusiasm is infectious. “Waterfall”, the b-side from their debut 7″, gets the music video makeover from underground cartoonist M. Wartella, and it’s instantly one of my favorites of the year. The band flies around in a funky UFO zapping coolness into the likes of Kid Congo Powers, The Make-Up’s Michelle Mae, Alec MacKaye and Francy Graham from Chain & The Gang. If you’re still wondering what costume to wear on Halloween this year, take some notes from this video.

Since wrapping up the brief but insanely catchy project Wild Flag with Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony assembled a new band with drummer Laura Harris of The Aquarium and Besty Wright called Ex Hex, after the title of Timony’s third solo album in 2005. Ex Hex has generated a lot of excitement in the music scene recently, signing to Merge Records and blowing lids at SXSW last week. The 7″ single for “Hot and Cold” is out today, as is a brand new music video directed by Lara Gallagher, featuring Chain & The Gang’s Ian Svenonious and his luxurious mop-top in a dinner date ruined by the precocious band.