In this modern age, the commodity of time feels more precious than ever, which is why it’s a great shame that so many choose to waste it in ways not limited to Instagram death scrolling, Youtube rabbit holes and TikTok horror.
New music is one of the many art forms that has suffered at the hands of the blinding speed of this new world. The album, screaming down the road that leads to distinction; ironic considering there is so much new music out there (perhaps the most ever?), yet so few bands garner the attention they deserve.
One can only hope that a band like Expose doesn’t succumb to these morose realities, simply because they are too damn good.
Formed in 2019, the Los Angeles outfit consists of Trent Rivas (drums), Jeff Stephens (guitar), James Novick (synths), and brothers Jake (bass) and Riley Getz (guitar). On their second full-length, ETC, Expose bestow the kind of post-hardcore smorgasbord that harbours deep curiosity. The latter, another facet that has eroded in this new world of clicks and likes, and it’s only through sheer hope that Expose’s unruly racket can escape the woes of modern culture.
In the words of Preening’s Max Nordile who describes Expose’s music as “hardcore falling down a mountain”, it’s quite accurate, for Expose are equally frayed at the edges and rigorously unmoored, with the results providing an accurate snapshot of what’s happening in underground guitar-based music so far this decade.
However, one wouldn’t think so after listening to ETC’s opening gambit, Dutch Field. With saxophones weaving in and out of off-kilter keyboards, it’s a sound that makes the walls whine in fear, likened more to a Beefheart rehearsal than any distant reverberations from the ’90s underground.
Expose - ETCThe post-punk wanderings of Speed Dial sees Expose honing in on some Total Control worship. It’s not the only time the Australian touchstones echo throughout ETC, with Description and MBB delivered through the same canon that catapults into a sci-fi-inspired orbit. Which is exactly where Reverse 3 inhabits. A wonky, cosmic blur that warps the mind as drones stir up the same hypnotic effect that fellow L.A. act Bondo have produced over the past couple of years.
Meanwhile, the inventive downer rock of The Constant is Expose creating multi-dimensional post-hardcore that shines light into new corners. In fairness, Expose could write an album full of songs that carry a similar aesthetic, but this isn’t an act for fame, just explorations; the rolling jazz freak-outs of Road Railing and Sink the kind of what-the-fuck? interludes that underline exactly what we’re dealing with.
In between these off-the-beaten-track interludes is Self Terror. With chiming nightscapes that evolve into a rolling crescendo of beautiful noise inspired by early Unwound, here Expose inject a new healthy dose of dread.
No Adrenaline just about equals its majesty. Post-rock that darkens the door, as eerie build-ups and medieval guitar noodlings form like thick veils of smoke. And in the ire of that smoke is Glue. With ringing guitars that weep from the speakers, once again Expose create the kind of hypnotic walls of sound that reveal new possibilities.
With closing cut, Zero Zero, a stop-start rollercoaster ride snaking through a haunted house, it best encapsulates the Expose experience: expect the unexpected. To reach ETC’s full potential is to afford it time, and if one has the stomach for it (even in this day and age), then the results speak for themselves. Simply put, it’s the first great long-player of 2025.
ETC is out Friday via Quindi Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.
