The Ex: Singles. Period.: The Vinyl Years 1980-1990

So-called "classic" albums often rely on context for their greatness, as if what sounds unremarkable now sounded revolutionary in its day. The Ex's fans consider "Stupid Americans" a classic song, but the band's haphazard playing all but derails it, along with "Curtains" and "Crap-Rap." However, The Ex pushed punk-rock's boundaries even on its first 7-inch, "All Corpses Smell The Same." A growling, repetitive bassline (panned to the left speaker) propels "Cells," while the tinny guitar (panned to the right) plays two poppy, Clash-like chords. The two sides sound disjointed—at least the drums kind of unite them—but the song shows The Ex deconstructing punk's elements early in its lifespan.

The Ex began its experiments with 1983's Gonna Rob The Spermbank single. Two of its four songs use a booming drum machine (a predecessor sound to Big Black), noisy, stuttering guitars, and other sounds to create a surprisingly compelling pastiche. They also lay the groundwork for the industrial sound the band embraced later on "Rara Rap." "Stonestampers Song" basically closes out the album, even though two tracks follow it (one a cover, the other a strange German short story set to music). It's actually recorded well (unlike the rest of the singles), and The Ex plays confidently. The ominous, thundering bass and noisy guitar repeat the same short musical phrase, and G.W. Sok's vocals, "Rack pickapack pickapack tack-tack" are even downright catchy. In spite of such occasional shining moments, Singles. Period. has limited appeal for anyone other than longtime fans. While The Ex certainly made strides from 1980 to 1990, a chronicle of that growth doesn't necessarily invite repeated listening.