ew York's back with a vengeance, in case you hadn't noticed. The Liars are on video in Footlockers around the country, Interpol's getting play at VH1 fashion shows, and Les Savy Fav's currently got their flamin' hot sexy truckdriver act on the road--but who's that shitkicking opening act? No, not the Gravemakers; I'm referencing the Ex-Models, whose live show beat the pants off both the pretty girls and the mighty Fav. This insanely kinetic post-punk quartet practiced for two years in seclusion before bringing their act to actual audiences, and anyone who's seen 'em live can attest that it was time well spent. Onstage, the no-wave element of their sound is much more apparent than on their record, which is damn near the spazziest thing I've heard all millennium.

As I was hinting at earlier, the Exes started way back in late '98, before anyone gave a shit about the White Stripes or had even heard of the Strokes. Brothers Shahryar and Shahin Motia formed the dual treble section, while Michael Masiello and Jake Fiedler weighed in on bass and drums, respectively. Their bio on the Ace Fu website imparts all sorts of pomo intentionality to the Models' brand of mathy mirthmaking, but I doubt the audiences whose asses they kicked in those early days gave much of a fuck. With a sound cobbled together from late-70s post-punk gods whose names I'm sure you're tired of reading by now (but whom I'll list anyway for the clueless: Richard Hell, Gang of Four, early Devo, and people say Talking Heads but I don't hear it), they hit the NY clubs, winning over a new crowd every night. Eventually Ace Fu got wise and snapped 'em up for a deal. And then Other Mathematics dropped in early 2k1.

Mike Patton said in a 1989 interview that one of Faith no More's influences was "epileptic music." I didn't know what he was talking about back then, but I can't think of a better descriptor for Mathematics. These guys definitely put the "rock" back in "paroxysm" with rhythms so spastic they make Devo sound like AM pop. All the while, Shahin's shouting like David Byrne on a caffeine IV about sex, Disneyland, sex, cars, and porn. The Motias work their axes like pistons, alternating firing patterns in perfectly cacophonous tandem. (Yeah, I know the metaphor was mixed; I'm over the deadline, sue me). Whether slinging nickel-wound shrapnel at 200 mph or slowing things down to an angular crawl, Other Mathematics keeps the party flailing uncontrollably like misfiring neurons after a blow to the head.

Anyway, back to the live show: what stage prescence! What precision! What did Shahin just say--Thomas Dolby?? Yes folks, blink and you might confuse it with the rest of the bangers, but the Models' cover of "She Blinded Me with Science" is a live highlight and not too shabby on record either. Besides that, expect unpredictable chorea-like dancing, precise timing on par with the greatest of math-rockers, and a general attitude of irreverence and playful deconstruction--hey, maybe there was something to that pomo crap after all. But you must forgive me for not paying close attention to the band's underlying philosophies--I was too busy twitching my silly ass off with blatant disregard for my fellow concert-goers.

Quick Facts:

Current members: Shahin Motia (vocals/guitar), Shahryar Motia (guitar), Michael Masiello (bass/vocals), Jake Fiedler (drums).

Location: New York, New York

Style: You've got math rock in my post-punk!

Labels Appeared On: Ace Fu

Major Releases:

Other Mathematics (2001)
Ex Models/The Seconds Pink EP (2002)

Starting Point: Other Mathematics (2001)