-
10.0
110301
10.0 |
The Skinny
The musicality of It’s Real is deliciously idiosyncratic, yet refreshing and musically progressive
Read Review
-
8.5
110144
8.5 |
Paste Magazine
Great, unqualified awesomeness soaked in ‘80s and ‘90s rock ‘n roll, echoing anyone and everyone from Joan Jett to Sleater-Kinney to Scorpions and even to Tsunami Bomb
Read Review
-
8.0
110145
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
The whole album shakes with frantic yet taut sonics, creating sounds that linger in your muscle fibres long after the tunes come to an end. At only 37 minutes it’s an album that doesn’t hang around long, but it kicks ass whilst it does
Read Review
-
8.0
110140
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Snarl, arena-scale roar, and real-world hurt
Read Review
-
8.0
110141
8.0 |
Mojo
Radiates bright, Buzzcocks-meet-The Knack groove. Print edition only
-
8.0
110142
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Accomplishes the one thing anyone would have questioned of Ex Hex after their debut – could they and would they expand their palette on their next outing
Read Review
-
8.0
110143
8.0 |
NME
The DC punks edge into glam territory, as if their low-ceilinged dive bar is located on a space shuttle. Don your glittery outfits and get ready to mosh
Read Review
-
8.0
110183
8.0 |
DIY
Every bit as essential as last time out
Read Review
-
8.0
110588
8.0 |
Uncut
There are moments of warm levity on It’s Real, especially when the band blow somebody off
Read Review
-
8.0
110331
8.0 |
The Quietus
Another album of bleak-banishing good times rock & roll... this time with a hint of Def Leppard
Read Review
-
8.0
110242
8.0 |
The FT
Big riffs, big melodies, and a breath of fresh hair
Read Review
-
7.8
110365
7.8 |
Pitchfork
The second album from Mary Timony’s band suggests that the hard rock of debut Rips was no dalliance: This time, they mine the denim-clad AOR of Billy Squier and Foreigner
Read Review
-
7.5
110590
7.5 |
Northern Transmissions
Ex Hex fairs much better in a busy and frantic mood, as many of the faster songs on the album seem to suggest
Read Review
-
7.0
110773
7.0 |
PopMatters
It's Real proves that Ex Hex can draw influences from different eras of rock music and spin them into something that sounds like only them
Read Review
-
7.0
110146
7.0 |
Exclaim
In the kaleidoscopic turns of its riffs and the lofty heights of its choruses, It's Real is a perfect soundtrack for forging ahead at high velocity
Read Review
-
7.0
111397
7.0 |
No Ripcord
Like that secondhand vinyl sitting on your shelf that never got reissued, it contains deep, thick grooves that always sound fresh regardless of its dwindling shelf life
Read Review
-
6.3
110147
6.3 |
Earbuddy
As an overall experience, it’s real good but never great
Read Review
-
6.0
110884
6.0 |
Under The Radar
The melodies are as strong as on Ex Hex's debut and many tunes here will easily linger
Read Review
-
6.0
110139
6.0 |
Q
Robust structuring is a blessing and curse: for all the frills and trapdoors, Ex-Hex's workmanlike rhythms eventually get monotonous. Print edition only
-
6.0
110238
6.0 |
The Observer
For a new band, this would be a perfectly serviceable debut, but with Ex Hex having flown so high previously, It’s Real is a disappointment
Read Review
-
5.0
110234
5.0 |
Clash
In these trying times, it’d benefit from being a whole lot more confrontational
Read Review
-