EX COPS
announce new album “DAGGERS”
released May 18th on Downtown Records / Sony Red
“Incredible…a shot of power-pop angst from the nineties” – Vogue
“Sleek, shoegaze inflected urbanite pop.” – Stereogum
“A visceral kick…moments such as these elevate Ex Cops above the legions of alternative rock revivalists” – Wondering Sound
Ex Cops, a nomadic duo featuring Amalie Bruun and Brian Harding, brings the hook-heavy blast of ‘90s alt-rock into a new era on their much anticipated second album Daggers. Executive produced by icon-of-form Billy Corgan and produced by Justin Raisen (Sky Ferriera, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue), the record rescues guitar-pop from the bedroom, returning it to the stage it deserves.
Formed in 2011, the group’s first album True Hallucinations, released in early 2013, was a critically-acclaimed collection of sprawling indie-pop. From the exuberant “Spring Break (Birthday Song)” to the band’s dreamy debut “You Are A Lion, I Am A Lamb,” the John Siket-produced record (Blonde Redhead, Yo La Tengo) was a genre-jumping opening salvo and its wall-to-wall guitars set the tone for their new album.
Daggers is a musical about-face, though; where “Hallucinations” was spacious and ethereal, Daggers is bod and brave, vivid and vibrant, an adrenalizing shot in the arms. “We are not afraid of our favorite music anymore,” says Harding. “It’s pop.”
Billy Corgan, in addition to sharing the band’s love of ABBA and taking them to their first wrestling match, provided form and texture to the new tracks over a two- week period in Chicago. The band then took the material to LA for tracking with Raisen and continued collaborating with artists like Ariel Pink, who co-wrote “Burnt Out Love” and features on “Tragically Alright.”
The result reinvents modern rock. “White Noise,” with its addictive chorus, merges guitars that could make your teeth ache and a motorik electronic pop pulse. The impeccably-produced “Teenagers” brings club-ready downtown pop to an anthemic peak, and “Rooms,” one of the album’s emotionally-resonant ballads, packs a substantial punch. Meanwhile, lead track “Black Soap” shifts shoegaze textures to stadium status, delivering an arena ready rock anthem which firmly cements the band’s status as one of the brightest talents around today.
1. Black Soap
2. White Noise
3. Teenagers
4. Daggers
5. Pretty Shitty
6. Burnt Out Love
7. Modern World
8. Wanna Be (feat. L.P.)
9. Tragically Alright (feat. Ariel Pink)
10. Rooms
11. Weird With You
Pre-order album here:
http://smarturl.it/ExCopsDaggers
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