Ex-Okay – “A Thousand Pictures One Word” / “Ashes”

Ex-Okay – “A Thousand Pictures One Word” / “Ashes” – Singles Review

There will be differing theories as to what’s been keeping Ex-Okay away from the scene, but there’s really only one that’s real.  If you read my last review on the band from way back at the end of 2018 on their first album Awkward Silence, you read about a journey to a debut record that was about seven, arguably even nine years in the making.  The past tends to dictate the present.  Work habits are what they are.  You might hear something about a global pandemic being thrown in the way or schedules colliding with the folks Ex-Okay have been working with behind the scenes to release their second album – but let’s be real here…the five years in between records simply is what it is – Tom wants things to be a certain way, and it clearly takes time to execute the vision he’s got for how things are gonna sound.  Not everyone is gonna tell you that…and heck, I don’t know it for a fact myself, I just know it to be true.  I’ve been in this game long enough to have a decent read on what takes place during the life cycle of a band.  Look at it from the right angle – they’re taking their time to ensure they can put out the best quality tunes they can, and it’s a method that’s proven to work.

Anyhow.  The wait is nearly over as far as I understand – new Ex-Okay music is indeed, on the way!  From what I’ve learned, they’ve got a whole team of titans behind them on this one behind the studio boards, which include legends like Chris Lord-Alge (Mixing), Maor Appelbaum (Mastering), and Joe Haze (Production), the latter of whom they previously worked with on Awkward Silence as well.  The new album is being called The Red Album…and right around there, ends the bulk of what I personally know.  Beyond that, I’ve got a couple of a singles here called “A Thousand Pictures One Word” and “Ashes” – that’s it.  I don’t know when the album comes out or when the singles get released officialy, but YES…if you read that previous review, you know that none of this means anything is necessarily just around the corner…but it is on its way.  These two songs are the first pieces of proof of life after Ex-Okay has held us all hostage in waiting for new music to come, and that’s a positive for sure – we’ll take what we can get.

If you know what Ex-Okay is all about and how they do their thing, you’re practically holding your breath as the first thirty seconds of “A Thousand Pictures One Word” begins, knowing full-well that the band is setting up for that eventual explosion of sound to follow.  While the moves they’re making might be a bit similar to those that you’ve heard from’em in the past, the sound quality has certainly stepped up overall, and the complexity in the music they create is still radiantly apparent.  All-in-all, I hear every reason for the band to be stoked about the upcoming record…the performance is flawless, the writing is tight, the vocals are outstanding.  I’ll readily concede to ya that they’re fighting upstream a little when it comes to what’s happening out there in the music scene right now, but that’s true of a million other bands as well.  You might not hear much out there like Ex-Okay on the radio right now, but underneath the surface of the mainstream, fired-up Emo/Rock hybrids like this band can still be found all over the place.  In particular, when it comes to “A Thousand Pictures One Word,” I felt like it was the main hooks and the vocals that made the biggest impact & impression on me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m digging their extraordinary use of loud/quiet dynamics too, but it’s the vocals that are making the difference overall – that’s the part that sounds the most fresh and new to me.  Points as well to the guitar breakdown around the 2:15 mark as well…that sounds spectacular, and I’m equally stoked about how you can hear the electric ringing out in the background of the most intense moments too…the work has been put into the details for sure, and the chorus filled with multiple vocals tracks is undeniably powerful to listen to.

That being said…I suppose if I had to choose, I’d probably be inclined to put “Ashes” out there as the first single.  I think?  Honestly, it’s hard to say.  I’m looking at this in terms of longevity overall – and while I like what I hear on “Ashes” and certainly acknowledge the hooks connect, I’d be more than willing to bet that this cut would wear out that much quicker for me by comparison to something like “A Thousand Pictures One Word,” which I think will hold up for a very long time over the years.  That doesn’t make “Ashes” a bad tune by any stretch of the imagination – more than half the singles you’ve heard in your life adhere to the ol’ adage that it’s “better to burn out than to fade away” – and so they come out, they conquer playlists and charts, and then they disappear.  While that may seem troublesome to look at in print, the reality is that it’s those same very songs that are like soldiers on the front line…they’re the ones that battle to establish the gateway in, and leave us to take on the rest long after they’re gone.  Ultimately songs like “Ashes” are extremely important in terms of establishing our interest, and I’d reckon this cut will have no problem doing that for fans of Emo/Alt-Rock or the many sub-genres that sprung up from the roots of those genres.  The execution is certainly there once again – Ex-Okay is absolutely sounding more professional than ever, so make no mistake…as a band, they’ve done everything they can do and checked all the right boxes.  They say the music business is all about timing…and that’s the battle they’re in for now.  The world has moved on a bit from the kind of style & sound that Ex-Okay creates, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be brought back to the forefront at any given time…that’s the cyclical nature of music, and it might actually be that same very process that comes in to play a significant role after the band having been away for so long.  I don’t know how anyone could listen to the way the drums start out “Ashes” and not at the very least be interested, know what I mean?  That’s an intro built to spark our curiosity and bring us into listen…and from there, the hooks you’ll find are arguably much more universal and widespread than what would merely be limited to the fans of genres I’ve cited…that’s why you’d wanna go with “Ashes” as the main single, even though I’d probably be the guy to tell ya that “A Thousand Pictures One Word” is the stronger of the two tunes.

All-in-all though, no reason to complain about either of these tracks when it comes to their quality or what Ex-Okay has put into’em…they’ve got strong material here, and I look forward to their resurgence.

Find out more about Ex-Okay at their official website at:  http://www.exokay.com

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