Exeter

Typically the genres, “space rock,” and “shoegaze” don’t exactly inspire too much enthusiasm when I hear them. And for all intents and purposes Exeter is both of those describers. They casually rock along with fuzzy guitars, thumping basslines, and hazy echoed vocals. But the sum of the band seems to out-weigh its components. For apart these variables might sound like a dazed and confused indie rock band, but combined in the way that Exeter has done, creates an impressive vision. That vision is the heavy pedal distortion of “Grey Noise, White Lies.”

If I told you to picture your average indie rock band, then like exchanging lens on a camera, you add a haunting and distorted Deftones filter, you might have an idea what Exeter pushes out. There are tons of building and powerful arrangements to go along with the frequent almost eerie indie rock. Honestly this album was quite a surprise. Even fans of recent Thrice and Coldplay will go nuts for the amount of atmosphere contained in “Grey Noise, White Lies.” Even the title track is essentially 5+ minutes of building instrumentals.

And despite the cloudy haze that is this albums production, I can only conclude that Exeter has made an amazing record. Listening to it makes you feel like you are in a warm (slightly tipsy) place where your inhibitions are thrown to the wind, as the dissonant atmospherics take hold. The only deviation from this path are the tracks “Widowmaker” and “Sweet And Low” which play like a reverbed, less depressed, Nirvana and a hit from Foo Fighters, respectively. These songs aren’t the best but they don’t distract from the rest of the record, which is memorizing.

So if you are in the mood to be surprised by how great the idea of “indie-Deftones” can sound, then check out Exeter right this moment because they are definitely deserving of praise. It’s fair to say that “Grey Noise, White Lies” is fantastic and memorable despite little problems and a hazy production. ~Staff - bringonmixedreviews.com

Not every artist can live up to their hype. Whether that hype is coming from the media, friends, or one’s own mind… regardless, it brings many expectations with it. “Grey Noise, White Lies,” the debut full length from Austin, TX’s own Exeter has been drenched in hype from ExplodingInSound.com, and space rock fans can now rest easy. With anticipation building for the album for nearly a year’s time, the disc arrived for my listening pleasure on the very day Exeter announced their duel label signing. Pop-Up Records, the terrific record label who brought Exeter to our attention with The Nurse Who Loved Me: A Tribute to Failure and Engineer Records have teamed up to combine their talents in support of this album’s highly anticipated release. Back in January I wrote the band was, “carrying the torch for early 90s space rock music well into the new millennium,” and with the backing of two exceptional labels who know the sound very well, Exeter are ready to carry the torch and primed to take the crown.


“Bittersweet Vanity” is a monumental album opener, with a dark cinematic and somber roar of processed guitars that wind with creeping feedback into a rolling energetic thrust. Mike, guitarist and lead singer, has a voice somewhere between the accessibility of Hum’s Matt Talbott and the nasal tone of Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky. Heavily layered guitars compliments of Mike and Cam (who also adds backing vocals) create a wall of sound with sharp drumming cutting through the mix to set the pace. The rhythm section comprised of Ky (drums/samples) and Rocky (bass) takes control over the overdriven wash of “The Romance,” that builds into the chorus as if vacuumed through outer space. The vocals are as sincere as they are delicately delivered, against a stunning backdrop crushing and colliding with sharp cymbal crashes and complex timing.

“Shadowboxing” floats in with a staccato guitar riff that recalls something along the lines of Black Sabbath in deep space. The vocal melody is at times scathing and constantly infectious, with sonic drifting layers of sound mixed with vibrant solos that benefit from Failure’s legendary 90s space rock influence. “Red Dress” is a track near and dear to me personally, as it was featured on my first compilation, and has undoubtedly become one of my favorite songs in recent years. As the hopeful wail of the hook storms into the epic nature of the bridge, Exeter truly has delivered a song that gets better with every repeat listen. The days when a band could sell over a million copies of an album with one hit single have come and gone, but with the easy going riff, driving rhythms, and phenomenal vocals, “Red Dress” can certainly thrive in this digital download era. Rocky’s thumping bass slinks about during the glossy produced intro of “Numb.” Atmospheric washes between guitars provide sonic texture for Mike’s high arching passionate melody. The fury and fuzz of the hook fuel from the songs vibrant shifts between calm introspection and raw power. Producer/engineer Kevin Butler of Test Tube Audio has done a terrific job capturing their sound and creating a record filled with dynamic variety.

The title track is an entirely instrumental piece that comes directly in the middle of the album. The song certainly continues in the cinematic scope of the record with a calm, ambient drift through the galaxies. Ky’s exceptional drumming with shimmering cymbal work and deep pounding fills set the tone as the track gradually builds and releases. “Everyday Parade” brings the distorted post-grunge wall of sound layering back into play as Exeter kick the speed from drift into hyper-speed. Straight forward and to the point, strong song writing proves to be key, as they avoid losing melody and catchiness in the noise. “Window” bounces with a gorgeous bass line and trickling atmospheric guitars. The soulful vocals are expertly doubled at the right moments, creating one of the many highlights of the record. The warmth of the effect pedals combine with the hypnotic rhythm section for a beautifully soothing trip best enjoyed through headphones. “Sweet & Low” is an interesting transition, as the band strays a bit from the space rock sound they know so well. The down and dirty feel delivers undeniably charming rock star swagger, as the band show influence from their impeccable local Texas music scene shining through.

“Widowmaker" is the soundtrack to the perfect space catastrophe. The pounding drums groove with together with surging guitars, filled with bubbling effects and razor sharp riffs. Heavily processed vocals add in an ever increasing carnage as Cam’s guitar whips around seething harmonics and cosmic solo work. All good things must come to an end, and Exeter bow out gracefully with the album’s longest contribution “Planet X”. Quiet semi-acoustic guitars create an apocalyptic and slow building start before the intensity takes its first leap. The song gradually builds to further stratospheres, making - Dan Goldin of Exploding in sound.com

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Exeter - Grey Noise, White Lies

Exeter - Grey Noise, White Lies

In the 1955 sci-fi classic This Island Earth, a dubious character named Exeter at first doesn’t look or act quite right. Sure enough, this shady humanoid turns out to be an alien come here to gather Earth’s brightest scientific minds and most powerful natural resources. Whatever Exeter’s motive, wherever his story takes us, doom is in the air. And the unstated fact is that the fate of his planet could be the fate of ours.

This isn’t the story of man exploring the depths of outer space in the unsettled future. Rather, it is outer space coming to man.

The same can be said of the young Austin band called Exeter. Though often billed as space rock, Exeter doesn’t play rock that floats into the beyond. No, they play rock music that has come to Earth from the darkened window pane of the cosmos, reflecting back to us the space within – the tension and potential power of our own dim resonance. The sound we hear is Grey Noise, White Lies, a recording of anxiety, aggression, and disquiet in the form of heavy guitars, churning rhythms, and wavering melodies. This is the heaviest space rock around.

Eventually, Exeter might drop the word “space” from their genre tag because their musical telescope takes a panoramic view of rock n’ roll, Earth and sky. The seeds of late 1990’s alternative rock music bears ample fruit along this quartet’s wall of sound, their most evident influences being Hum and Failure. But the principal carryover from those days is angst. The joylessness of Grey Noise, White Lies is striking.

Exeter takes liberties with some of the song lengths in an effort to fully unearth the dark matter hardened in the clay beneath our cities and suburbs. Maybe none of it ever sees the light of day but, for Exeter, the flight here and the search and the dig make the journey, and it all culminates in the moment when the shovel finally strikes the lid of the box that holds the things we thought were buried.

They dig with guitars that alternately drive and dabble, and with a rhythm section that flushes out the barren sand. Opening track “Bittersweet Vanity” drives up and down and sideways. It’s a solid example of the multiplicity of sounds and rhythms that Exeter finds. Even better examples are “Everyday Parade” and “Planet X”, both songs are occasions in which the heaviness and emotion is at once muted and ear popping.

But my favorite is the lonesome requiem, “Numb”; about the time you settle in, the song pushes out its revelations. Throughout Grey Noise, White Lies, the songwriting shines. Each track develops with patience and anticipation, making excellent use of dynamics and changes. Songs here aren’t headlines; they’re feature articles with interesting tangents. And the sum of their parts is our story of struggle.

The heaviness of Grey Noise, White Lies will throw off fans expecting traditional space rock. But listeners will not likely care because a debut this good, this heavy and flexible, comes only once in a blue moon. The flaws are too few and forgivable to believe this is their first full length outing. Welcome Exeter to Earth, and learn from his cautionary tale. - Damon of adequacy.net

From Austin, TX comes Exeter, a space rock outfit that hurled itself on the scene four years ago. With “Grey Noise, White Lies” they just released their debut full-legnth, out on Pop Up Records in the States and Engineer Records in the UK.

They offer a batch of fierce rock songs, spacey riffage and ambient parts and end up sounding like a crossover between Gravenhurst and Cave In with opener “Bittersweet Vanity”, “Shadowboxing” and “Red Dress” as my personal favorites. Vocalist J. Michael Parker has a good voice for this type of music, sounding a bit nasal but with a wide range. In “Red Dress” he even sounds a little like that dude from Muse.

While there is still room for improvement (more hooks, bigger climaxes), “Grey Noise, White Lies” is a solid debut offering that should garner them some more attention.
Score: 7 out of 10 - PunkRockTheoryzine.blogspot.com

EXETER | Grey Noise/White Lies

Leaving Earth without ever leaving the ground.
Full length debut for this Austin four piece -J. Michael Parker (voc. guit.), Cameron Creamer (guit. backing voc.), Rocky Reyna (bass) and Ky Williams (drums)- we already noticed with the powerfull wall of sound displayed on the EP Intra Venus. With Grey Noise/White Lies the targets are made clearer: to create a spacey emo-indie, in between Sunny Day Real Estate/Elliott emotional accents and Failure post-grunge mood (a band they payed a tribute on The Nurse Who Loved Me with a loyal version of “Smoking Umbrellas”). Beside those links, the perfect synthesis built by the band and the high quality of the song-writing are able to bring some fresh air inside an otherwise tired and over-crowded scene. The opener, “Bittersweet Vanity”, just to make an example, would be perfect for Deep Elm's Emo Diaries, but also Radiohead-like progression on “Red Dress” and “Numb are able to hit the target, just like the hypnotizing sweet accents on “Window” and “Everyday Parade”, with parker swimming in a sea of distorted tunes and psychedelic moods. The less brilliant post-rockish title track and some few minor moments can't inficiate the whole value of such an intriguing proposal. Emo-tional fans should pay a visit. A fully positive rating but a goal to reach in the next future: to avoid any remaining clichès.
3/5

Marcello Semeraro - www.audiodrome.it