WI thought the disco-dance-punk movement was so 2003-2004 and all but dead these days. Evidently the Los Angeles trio of Moving Units didn’t get that memo. The band released their excellent debut full-length Dangerous Dreams in 2003 and has finally released their sophomore effort Hexes For Exes after four long years. It is still dance-punk but a little less jagged and in your face than their debut. It actually reminds me a lot of Communiqué‘s one and only full length (in both vocals and melody), albeit a little less obvious than that record.

Hexes For Exes isn’t groundbreaking and isn’t overly complex, but it is damn good music for moving to. I put it to the test last night and found that it made the usually monotonous treadmill miles fly right by. Perhaps something in between The Rapture, New Order, Hot Hot Heat, Communiqué, and Interpol. I realize that isn’t the most succinct comparison, but I think it is pretty accurate. No one song really comes out and grabs you and says, “I’m the single,” but when the whole albums is as consistently solid as this one is, there is no need. I’m not saying there aren’t boatloads of catchy tunes on the record, cuz there are. In the end, this record may just creep its way into my year-end Best Of list.

MP3 | Moving Units – Paper Hearts Hexes For Exes
MP3 | Moving Units – The Kids From Orange County Hexes For Exes

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5. Review: !!! – Myth Takes (or) the smell of napalm in the morning