Moving Units

Hexes And Exes

[4.5/5]


In the three years since Moving Units released their debut full-length, Dangerous Dreams, singer/guitarist Blake Miller has become a globe-hopping DJ and in-demand remixer. Unsurprisingly, these extracurricular activities heavily inform Hexes And Exes, an album that shatters all preconceived notions about what dance-punk can or should be. While much more keyboard-based-see über-’80s Joy Division/Depeche Mode/Faint ménage a trois “Crash ’N’ Burn Victims”-Exes maintains the hollowed-out bass thump and sharp beats of Moving Units’ debut, while incorporating goth-funk, stomping dreampop and even elastic electro-mope (the bizarrely U2-esque “Wrong Again”). What stands out on Exes is its production, though: Although layered and lush-check the multiple guitar/synth/bass melodies criss-crossing through “Pink Thoughts”-it’s never sterile or monochromatic. During a year in which hot dance-floor jams were a dime a dozen, the near-perfect Exes handily stands above the masses. (METROPOLIS) Annie Zaleski