The Hexers

The Hexers' brand of garage/r'n'b/r'n'r kinda blew me away when the Gizmos played with them in Columbus, Ohio recently, so I picked up the two records that they had available. These 7 inches are not nearly as raw and smokin' hot as these sharp-dressed ravers are live, but are solid souvenirs of their sound.

Werewolf By Night is a 33-1/3, 5 song EP (mine's on white vinyl) that opens with a Them-like "The Fact of the Matter", a mid-tempo, organ-dominated, r'n'b groove that reminds me of the Tell Tale Hearts in their prime. Similar in feel but ratcheting up the speed a bit (still nowhere near as frantic as their shows) is "You Gotta Go" - very 60's feel - easily could be an early British invasion number! More powerful is "Kill For Fun", which almost reminds me of the Tuff Darts "All For the Love of Rock'n'Roll", though more garagey but with lyrics silly enough to be worthy of the Darts. "Why Why Why" reminds me of the early days of the Unclaimed ("Run From Home") and Chesterfield Kings, with more cool organ and some (kinda buried) fuzz guitar, and a great vocal line. The most crazed number is the closer, "Like That", a frenetic rave-up with rolling bass lines, matching guitar licks, fast paced drums and have I mentioned that Eric is a terrific singer? Great tone and plenty of sass!

The other release is a 45 rpm two-song single, with a Chocolate Watchband-ish stomper (with a Yardbirds rave-up chorus) on the A-side - "She's There" - that has tons of fuzz guitar, cool harp and a slightly trippy bridge. The flip is "She's Mine", a kinda take-off on "Empty Heart" with more rockin' harp and again sounding like something from the first Tell Tale Hearts record - good energy, hot guitars, fine organ and just a rockin' number.

Yeah, I've compared these cats to a lot of other great bands, but they do have a style and sound of their own and they truly wail live! Check 'em out if ya can and let's hope that they put out a full length soon!