Archie Powell and the Exports are a pop smart, little bit grungy, garage rock band with catchy tunes and snarky lyrics—think Weezer meets They Might Be Giants. This type of no frills alt-rock has not been on my mind since the nineties and I was curious to see how it would fare at Arlene’s Grocery Thursday night: the average ear is so inundated with synthetic sounds and heavy-handed production, could it still excite? By the end of the show, it was clear that the recipe still works.
The band played a quick forty-five minute set and though there were a number of Archie Powell first timers in the small crowd, the band had won them over by the end of the show. Their songs are fun and catchy and Mr. Powell’s voice oozes the sort of nerdy ennui that works so well with songs about aimless twenty-somethings. Mixed in with songs from their new album Skip Work was a cover of Tom Petty’s “I Need To Know,” which allowed the band to show a more aggressive rock and roll sound than their own material does. Another song was a little bit country and Mr. Powell showed himself capable of adapting a slight twang.
The band sounded great, was very sharp, and achieved a much fuller and heavier sound live than they do on their recordings. The guys look the part, with Powell being the image of disenchanted youth and his band mates the sort of rock band-next-door types. Powell and the bassist were chatty in between songs and seemed to understand the mood well. The bassist won me over when, hawking the band’s t-shirts, he prophetically declared that, “Wolf shirts are out, deer and whale shirts are in.”
It was refreshing to see a show where the band looked like they were honestly enjoying themselves.
It was fitting that Archie Powell and the Exports would be the band to do so; their songs are fun, occasionally thought provoking, and catchy. Worth a look.