The title of this may confuse some but no, I am not telling you to listen to your exes (I would NEVER say such thing, trust me) but to listen to EXES (the much better EXES). Allie McDonald and producer Mike Derenzo make up the EXES indie duo. I remember that the first time I listened to EXES was in a sad songs’ playlist on Spotify. I remember that it was sometime in March. I had just gone through a little heartbreak and EXES came to the rescue. The first song I ever listened to was “Cain”. “Cain” is one of their most popular songs and you will see why once you listen to it. The song is a sad melody about a man Allie loved, that died. It is indeed one with a sad story. My favorite verse in that song is “I’ll never get to hold your hand/ I’ll never get to/ I’ll never get another chance/ I’ll never get to you, you” Allie’s voice for that verse is so powerful. You can feel her emotions.
After “Cain” I obviously had to listen to more EXES, so I looked through their Spotify profile and found “Taxi”, it is still one of my favorite songs by EXES. It is one that is a bit more upbeat than the rest, it will always be an all-time favorite. There are a few more songs that I like, like “Quiet”, “Grey”, “Peckham”, “Everything”, “Memorize”, “Promises”, and “Sherman Oaks”.
I cannot forget about “Bones Break” though… this song holds a special place in my heart because this is the song my two best friends and I sing in the car on our way home at night. It is the song that breaks our heart in a good way that we enjoy. We have cried to it and smiled through it. The lyrics go “If you didn’t want what I wanted/ Why’d you let it get so far/ You knew/ I was heavy hearted marching in the dark/ And all your secrets keeping you up/ While you’re driving in your car/ You knew/ But you told me to keep looking at the stars/ You say “I’m not the one for you”/ “I won’t stay”/ Baby I wish that you told the truth/ Someday I’ll be the one for you/ When it’s too late/ Is it too late?” So of course, my friends and I cry on the ride home while listening to this song, we have all been played in this life, why not enjoy a song about it?
EXES recently released a new song called “Daughter” and Allie tweeted a short message soon after. She wrote, “… We tend to write songs about the past, but “Daughter” is the first time we’ve written about the future. It’s a promise I’m making to myself to continue to share these stories, no matter how painful the memories may be. Because feeling is a beautiful thing.” It indeed is, Allie. “Daughter” is a beautiful song, it says how she will tell her future daughter about the boy that loved her first, that she hopes her daughter finds someone that makes her feel like that boy made Allie feel.
I hope you will consider listening to EXES, they deserve all the recognition. EXES can make you cry, smile, reminisce old memories, all in one song. One of my dreams is seeing them live one day, I know the lyrics to most of their songs, and now, I hope you will too. Enjoy! (and as you were probably wondering, yes, the whole time I was writing this, I was listening to EXES).
P.S. EXES is releasing their EP “Once More, with Feeling” and you cannot tell how EXCITED I am. I know I will love it, so stream it November 15th!