Usually, light and hard rock shouldn’t mix. It’s like mixing fire and kittens - sure, it sounds like a good idea at first, but it tends to end in ashes and tears. Every so often, however, a band comes along that successfully creates deadly kitten bombs…or an album featuring some decent music from both sides of the spectrum.
With A Modern Way of Living With the Truth, the Exies have proven to be one of those bands. While the focus of the album, as with their previous work, is still on catchy rock, there’s several tunes that show the band’s more mellow side. It’s a mix that any rock fan is sure to enjoy, whether or not they were previously fans of the band.
The opening track, for instance, is “Leaving Song”, which led me to make sure I was listening to the right album. It’s a somber, slow tune that shows a bit of a country music influence, and it’s definitely not something one would expect to hear from the Exies. What’s impressive is that they manage to pull it off without completely embarrassing themselves as most bands would have.
From there, the majority of the album revolves around the hard-rocking Exies that most rock fans know and love. “Lay Your Money Down” and “Fear of Being Alone” would bring a smile to fans’ ears, but the real highlight of A Modern Way of Living With the Truth is the single “Different Than You”, which brings to mind the melodic percussion of Papa Roach combined with the Exies’ trademark memorable vocals.
While I normally only recommend iTunes in situations where an album only has one or two good tracks and thus isn’t worth purchasing as a whole, users who purchase A Modern Way of Living With the Truth from the service also end up with another single. “God We Look Good (Going Down in Flames)” is another heavy track that shouldn’t be missed, yet wasn’t included with the physical album. iTunes users also get the majority of the group’s previous singles - “Ugly”, “My Goddess”, “Genius”, and “Tired of You” - as well, making the digital version of this album the obvious choice.
As for the rest of the album, it’s all solid material as well.
“Stray” is an ideal mixture of light and hark rock, for instance, and the title track is a powerful bit of a rock that seems destined to become yet another single, as is “Dose”, which would prove to be a radio hit if it managed to garner a little attention. All in all, the Exies have certainly had enough time to refine their sound, and it shows in the overall quality of this album. There’s no filler to be found here, which, again, is a lot more than can be said for the majority of modern rock groups.
The Exies have had a long run, with A Modern Way of Living With the Truth as their fourth released album, and it’s good to see that they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The powerful music and impressive vocals here reinforce the fact that while the Exies may not always get as much credit as they deserve, they still stand as a bastion of modern rock awesomeness. Some might disagree, but in the end, it’s hard to argue with quality.
-Cory
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THEY NEED ALOT OF CREDIT. I THINK EVERYONE OF THEIR SONG KICK A*S. THERES NOT ONE SONG THAT THEY SANG THAT I DONT LOVE…
THEY LOOK LIKE ANGELS, THE DRESS LIKE ANGELS, THEY SURE IN THE HELL SANG LIKE ANGELS AND BESIDES ALL OF THAT I CALL THEM MY DARK ANGELS.
HUGGS
Great review, and I couldn’t agree more!! Modern Way of Living With The Truth is one of those albums that would make my list in a game of “If you were stranded on a desert island, and could only bring 3 things…” I listen to it over and over, never tiring of it, and spreading it to people I know like gospel. lol. There isn’t a single song on it I skip past either, and I don’t know many bands that can accomplish that, for me. Thanks for sharing guys! I’ll continue the vigil to see you play in my area!
Tara
I love this album & I love the fantastic reveiw of THE EXIES!! I fell in love w/ this album by a chance meeting of the group while they were touring last year.
WOW- I am so glad to have found this rock music!! we need to hear more bands like THE EXIES on the radio!! THEY ROCK & i love all the songs especially STrAY & LAY your MONEY DOWN! BUT i love THESE are the DAys & DIFFERENT than YOU. ok then there is DOSE & THE Leaving SONG (could their be a more sexy voice on the planet Nope!) I could go on & on, but you have to see these guys live!! THEY rock it out everynight & afterwards they spend time w/ the fans signing & chatting. I-tunes has GOD we Look GOOD GOING DOWN? I may have to go & get the album there too!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this album & this band!
Awesome review! The Exies definitley created something extra special with ‘A Modern Way..’! The music rocks and the lyrics are amazing! I love that I can really relate to a lot of the songs in some way too.
And the “deadly kitten bombs” are some of my favorites! haha They have that perfect balance that make the song something truely unique and awesome.
I just love these guys… they’ll forever be one of my fav. bands! Im hoping they wont be so overlooked after the year is through…
<3 Kim
A great review for a very well put together album. I have been listening to it over and over and over again since I bought it.
With each album there is a progression, they just keep getting better. I look forward to seeing them play anywhere I can this year!
I stumbled upon The Exies, playing Guitar Hero. I fell in love with the song “Hey You”, and on my next trip to Tower records, Which was closing and clearing out the store, I found the cd Head for the door and figured maybe there might be a few songs on it I might like. i will never forget sitting in the parking lot and popping that cd in. It was amazing, every single song was unbelivable. i soon picked up Inertia and was counting the days till Modern day of living with the truth came out. I bought it the day it came out. I could not belive that they could out do head for the door, but they did! They are the little band that could and will rock the world. And seeing them live is not to be missed. They are cool and very down to earth. They will get the credit they deserve someday soon. I love my boys!!!!
i first heat the exies on trl with “these are the day”,but i started to search their songs and found a bucnh of really good sons like “ugly” “different than you” “a fear of being alone” and the leaving song”. this is by far one of the greatest bands i have ever heard.
true that
Yea! I’m a loyal fan now that I’ve found this GREAT band. I’m excited to see their hard work acknowledged and appreciated by others!
The Exies have been to Tallahassee Florida several times and I didn’t know anything about them them until I listened to Cage Rattle. They are an awesome not to mention energetic band that are definitely worth going to see live. I know they will do BIG things. If I’m lucky enough, I will see them if they come to Tally again.
The Exies are an extremely addicting band. Once I heard them, I couldn’t stop. I even told my friends and they were addicted too. The Exies can do no wrong.
They totally rock! Hope they come to Ohio on the Most Wanted Tour!
I love the review! I saw them in Jax, NC and they kick a$$ in concert and are super nice guys! Can’t wait to see them live again! All 4 albums are great…they keep getting bettter and better!
cory is hot
write more reviews pleas
w00p w00p teh xies yeah yeah
yo…
disagree…