CHICAGO, IL. (Top40 Charts/ Western Publicity) "With simple melodies and sardonic lyrics, Archie Powell and the Exports' new album, Great Ideas in Action, may well be the soundtrack to this summer." NPR's World Cafe
"The rave-up "Crazy Pills" rides a driving organ riff to frantic heights, with Powell howling above chugging guitars and pounding drums. It's acerbic in a Costello vein, carrying a bite to match the sharp music." AV Club
"Powell and his Exports pair crunchy guitar riffs with great song titles…Its party rock that is, in fact, rock music." FUSE TV's 30 Must See Artists of CMJ 2012
Heartbreak, shame, sorrow and guilt. In the case of Archie Powell, his new collection of songs prove that for him, no good crush gets requited. He and the Exports present Back in Black, an explosive set that marries the melodic, hooky addiction of their previous albums with a new heavier, noisy backing. They hop in the van this month to continue their scorched earth tour policies while heading to Austin to perform a slew of SXSW performances and sessions. They join their buddies The Damn Choir on many of the dates (see poster for details). Back in
Black is out April 28th, to celebrate all this excitement, they leaked two songs from the album, "Everythings F**ked" and "Scary Dream" - listen here - on loud volume if possible.
Powell notes that the political songs on their critically acclaimed "Great Ideas in Action" got a lot of attention, but he felt that the more inwardly centered songs held up just as well. "I felt that the real strength of our body of work was with internal subject matter. Writing this album, I wanted to be bluntly transparent about sex and romance. I was really looking to be nakedly honest despite any discomfort or personal embarrassment it would invariably cause."
With a desire to capture sound and spirit of their high-energy live show, the band set out for Chrome
Attic with producer and like-minded soundsmith Jonathan Alvin (Santah, Surfer Blood), a soul brother with the chops and innovative outlook to help them realize their vision. Keen pop sensibility with harsh noise soundscapes compliment one another and lend a cohesiveness to a set of tunes that are otherwise markedly dissimilar.
Thematically, the lyrics speak of heartbreak, longing and infatuation - they are presented in a sonically dischordant way, creating a musical dichotomy that breathes fresh air into a time honored rock n' roll tradition. "I'm always looking for a twist, to make things musically interesting for myself" explains Powell, "I ditched any songs that seemed too pat, too easy, and focused on the ones that had a creepy feeling on the first listen, then became more relatable as you dig in. Conversely, I've also always loved the happy sounding pop songs that have weird, depraved subject matter. It's the same kind of rub."
Archie Powell is the son of a violin prodigy who played in the
Chicago Symphany Orchestra before landing as a permanent member of Milwaukee's orchestra. Immediately following college, he and keyboardist Ryan started the Exports, bassist Adam joined after they recorded their first EP and they rounded out the permanent line-up with drummer RJ. The band's first recorded effort was a digital freebie called the Loose Change EP that expanded their audience to a national level. It was followed by Skip Work, their debut full length, which drew praise from
Boston Phoenix and My Old Kentucky Blog among others. Great Ideas in Action followed in 2012, and critics from Esquire, Billboard and NPR's World Café were impressed.
2/28 Maxine's ** 700 Central Avenue Hot Springs, AR
3/1 Stickyz ** 107 River Market
Little Rock, AR
3/2 Lemmons ** 5800 Gravois St. Louis, MO
3/4 The Replay ** 946 Massachusetts Lawrence, KS
3/9
Magnolia Motor Lounge ** 3005
Morton St Fort Worth, TX
3/11 Official SXSW -Red 7 611 E 7th St Austin, TX
3/15 Freedman's Bar 2402 San Gabriel St Austin, TX
3/18 Davey's ** 3402 Main Street Kansas City, MO
3/19 Cosmic Charlie's ** 388 Woodland Ave Lexington, KY
3/20 New Vintage ** 2126 S Preston St Louisville, KY
3/21
Melody Inn ** 3826 N Illinois St Indianapolis, IN
** Dates are with The Damn Choir
For more info on the band visit www.archiepowellandtheexports.com
