Arizona garage punk band The Exbats pull together musical elements from a variety decade, which makes sense because their members span several decades. That’s because the band is led by the father-daughter duo of 20 year old Inez and Kenny McLain and rounded out by a punk lifer in bassist Bobby Carlson. The former provides ’60s inspired drumming and vocals equally inspired by doo-wap and punk rock; the latter layers on “Beach Boys-meets-X guitar licks.” The result is catchy, energetic music and for a small taste of what to expect from their new album, we’re premeiring the new video for their song “Wet Cheeks.”
The song opens with a simple guitar riff that recalls early era-Husker Du on a surf-rock bender. The song is from the band’s Burger Records release Kicks, Hits and Fits, which was released last month. “Wet Cheeks” is a reference to how people’s faces look when they’re crying, as Inez points out. “I can’t stand crybabies,” she said. “If you’re sitting around crying because you’re lonely then you’ll probably stay lonely.”
Inez and Kenny have been performing together for a decade, getting started when Inez got her first drum kit. The band has survived ups and downs, a move from Portland to a remote reservation town in the northeastern Arizona desert and are now in their current location of Bisbee, AZ, a quirky, historic mining town near the Mexico border.
Kicks, Hits and Fits track list
1. “You Don’t Get It (You Don’t Got It)”
2. “Funny Honey”
3. “Doorman”
4. “Good Enough For You”
5. “Maven of the Crafts”
6. “Wet Cheeks”
7. “Put Down Your Fights”
8. “Try Burning This One”
9. “Immediate Girl”
10. “Florida”
11. “Hey Hey Hey”
12. “I Got The Hots For Charlie Watts”
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