Maybe the name Ex-Breathers is a punk joke, like how in the '90s every zine and show flyer listed the former members of bands in parenthesis to help y'all keep track of the Page Six punk drama. It's just as well, because three years after their debut album, the Tallahassee punks almost sound like a different band, or at least an evolved one.
Weirdo punks like Fugazi and Minutemen are still the touchstones on Ex-Breathers' second album, Past Tense. But the laser-focused gut-punch is far more dynamic this time around, as the group sets mean riffs and a hulking rhythm section against eerie melodies. Here's the first single from the new record, "Stand Still."
Past Tense comes out Oct. 23 on Exploding In Sound and Hex.
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