Apr 12
7
USA: Exit Clov
This week is Taiwan’s annual Spring Scream festival, held in Kenting which is located in the very southern part of the island. Started in 1995, it’s become an annual rite of spring for Taiwanese youths, where they can catch the latest musical acts from a variety of styles. This year, making their first appearance at the festival and the island is the New York City based band, Exit Clov. So why would they want to go all the way to Taiwan for a performance? Let’s take a look at the band and find out.
The band is driven by Taiwanese American twin sisters Emily and Susan Hsu, who not only share vocal duties but also play violin. On top of that, Emily handles keyboard, Susan plays the guitar, and the rest of the band features Aaron Leeder on guitar, Brett Niederman on bass and John Thayer on drums. Taking their name from Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, Exit Clov has been active since 2003 but as yet unknown to Taiwan audiences. Here is their tour schedule:
Saturday, April 7th: *Spring Scream Festival* – Kenting
Wednesday, April 11th: *Sound Live House* – Taichung
Thursday, April 12: *The Wall* – Taipei
Friday, April 13: *Revolver Club* – Taipei
Saturday, April 14: *Underworld* – Taipei
I love this song
For a taste of their music, you can download their latest single It’s a Cult or simply listen to it as a streaming song. They’ve recently released an album called Island X that you can either stream to your computer or buy for a very reasonable price, either digitally or the physical version. One of the songs on the album was released earlier to raise money for the victims of Typhoon Morakot.
Per their Wiki entry, their sound is described as “kaleidoscopic pop noir”. I’m not sure what that actually means (noir? nothing dark here!) but it sounds catchy. For me, what’s really catchy is their sound which is more upbeat indie with great harmonies, well written songs and they know how to play their instruments. Having lived in Taiwan for a few years, I know how difficult it is to catch a concert that doesn’t feature cutesy musicians singing pop ballads. Well, here’s your chance. If you didn’t catch them at Spring Scream (and even if you did), try to catch one of their remaining four shows. Show good artists that it’s worth their time to tour Taiwan and play beautiful music on a beautiful island.
This is from 2010′s album Memento Mori, which you can purchase at amazon.com It’s called “The Hate”.
Let me know what you think. Comments on bands and musicians are always appreciated. And if you get a chance to catch them live, let us know your opinion of the show.
