Stream & Download Ex Cops' "James" From Upcoming Album

Keeping a handful of Ex Cops' early sessions in place, the newly expanded lineup took to the studio to record True Hallucinations with John Siket (Blonde Redhead, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, etc.) sitting in the production chair. The resulting album is a mind-altering pop pill that maintains the intimate mood of the original group's sound, but now presented in widescreen Technicolor.

Hardingʼs songs are effortlessly catchy, built from a timeless blend of gentle, somnambulant harmonies, chiming guitars, and loose swinging rhythms. You can detect influences ranging from vintage British and New Zealand indie pop (imagine the Chills covering Nick Lowe during "James"), to Factory Records atmospherics ("You Are a Lion, I Am a Lamb"), and closer to home, a little Velvets/Feelies jangle ("Broken Chinese Chairz"), along with a good dose of classic power-pop and the guitar-heavy sound of Teenage Fanclub ("Ken," "Separator"). Yet in spite of this list of influences and precursors, Ex Copsʼ music is very much their own, sounding at once both classic and modern, their sugary pop songs enshrouded in a unique psychedelic haze.