
Exbats, the - Song Machine - New LP
In a just world, Song Machine, the fifth full-length album from The Exbats, which arrives 2023 via Goner Records, would become one of the most-loved and most-listened to albums of the 2020s. Song Machine by The ExbatsWith the 13-track Song Machine, the Bisbee, Arizona-based band further their analog back-to-the-future combination of the Shangri-Las and pre-Velvet Underground doo-wop wannabe Lou Reed, churning out catchy tunes laden with buoyant choruses that rank alongside the best A-sides recorded in the shadow of the Brill Building or with the Wrecking Crew in tow. The Exbats are effortless time travelers–this time, they’ve set the dial for the early 1970s, incorporating the sonic magic of the Partridge Family, Muswell Hillbillies-era Kinks, and Brian Wilson into the crux of their musical ethos, evident on tracks like the propulsive “Riding With Paul” and “The Happy Castaway,” which bookend the album.“What I remember about that era is going to record stores and seeing a wall of 45s