Ex Hex’s new video is “all about three-dimensional power chords interplaying with whammy dive bombs. It’s a song about turning on your tough switch and forging ahead through whatever storms are happening around you ’cause you have no choice.” The opening song off It’s Real, their follow-up to Rips comes out March 22nd, via Merge Records.

Produced by Jonah Takagi (who also produced Rips), It’s Real was a more collaborative effort than its predecessor. Mary Timony and Betsy Wright could be found writing late into the night, leaning on Takagi to tighten up arrangements. Egos were surrendered in service to the music: Nothing was sacred or precious, and there was a relentless devotion to both songcraft and exploration. Dozens of guitar amps sat mic-ed in the next room, and the group experimented at a frenzied pace parsing countless combinations of instruments, pedals, and amps. They even dusted off Mary’s old Rockman, a small headphone amp designed by Boston guitarist Tom Scholz in 1982. Mary recounts, “It’s only about the size of a Walkman and takes eight AA batteries, but it sounds massive. We read that parts of [Def Leppard’s] Hysteria were tracked through it, and when we finally plugged it in, it blew our minds!”

Ex Hex
Live Dates

Apr 02 Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall*
Apr 03 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
Apr 04 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom*
Apr 05 Portsmouth, NH – The Press Room*
Apr 06 Montreal, QC – l’Escogriffe*
Apr 07 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern*
Apr 08 Ferndale, MI – Loving Touch*
Apr 10 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall*
Apr 11 Madison, WI – High Noon*
Apr 12 Minneapolis, MN – Turf Club*
Apr 13 Omaha, NE – Reverb*
Apr 15 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre*
Apr 17 Boise, ID – Neurolux^
Apr 18 Portland, OR – Aladdin^
Apr 19 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore^
Apr 20 Seattle, WA – Crocodile^
Apr 23 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall^
Apr 24 Fresno, CA – Strummer’s^
Apr 25 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom^
Apr 26 Tustin, CA – Marty’s on Newport^
Apr 27 Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge^
Apr 28 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress^
Apr 30 Austin, TX – Barracuda^
May 01 Dallas, TX – Curtain Club^
May 03 Nashville, TN – Exit/In^
May 04 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle^
May 05 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle#
May 09 Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere
May 10 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club%
May 23 Glasgow, UK – Stereo
May 24 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
May 25 Manchester, UK – Deaf Institute
May 27 Bristol, UK – The Exchange
May 28 London, UK – Village Underground
May 29 Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds
May 31 Brussels, BE – Botanique, Witlof Bar
Jun 01 Hilvarenbeek, NL – Best Kept Secret Festival
Jun 03 Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
Jun 04 Zurich, CH – Exil
Jun 05 Cologne, DE – Blue Shell
Jun 06 Hamburg, DE – Molotow
Jun 07 Berlin, DE – Privatclub

* w/ Moaning
^ w/ Feels
# w/ Japanese Breakfast, Eternal Summers
% w/ The Messthetics, Clear Channel