It’s not always easy coming up with nice things to say about an ex. But in the case of Ex-Boyfriends, genuine expressions of goodwill aren’t too difficult. The San Francisco trio refines its alternately fizzy and edgy pop/punk on the follow-up to 2006’s admirable-yet- disheveled Dear John. The group has never been one to play coy with its sexuality. Its MySpace page pretty much lays it out: “We are looking for bands that like to take long walks on the beach, cuddle for hours on end, watch Merchant Ivory films and love taking it up the ass.” Yet Ex-Boyfriends don’t spin their preference in the sack as a gimmick, either, choosing instead to see love, lust and the inevitable pain that accompany both as boundless, universal and unavoidable necessities no matter which way you lean. In fact, there’s nothing especially novel about Ex-Boyfriends’ approach. Strummed electric guitars unfurl simply with an algebraic precision (see the Sugar-y “Private D”); rhythms lurch and lunge with new-wavey panache (take your pick from a handful of XTC moments). In the end, In With’s indecisiveness is its sole drawback. A do-we-rock-out- mindlessly-or-cozy-up-and-get-cerebral? waffling is embodied in frontman Colin Daly’s oddly noncommittal vocals, which can’t quite reconcile the bawdy holler of a young Andy Partridge with the forlorn coo of James Mercer. [www.absolutelykosher.com]
—Hobart Rowland
