The Ex-men

"Famous" (EP, 2010)

Flowers In The Dustbin

First appearing on their self-released debut A Life of Love back in 2007, Famous is a song that front man Jack Sims and fellow founder member Matt Green appear to have always had a soft spot for. It’s been a staple of their live circuit work in the last three years, seeing the band tour the UK, France, Italy and Eastern Europe. After performing the song at the Are Flowers Electric? club night in Glasgow, Flowers In The Dustbin label founder Stephen McKee subsequently signed the band in April this year. The eight-track Famous EP is the band’s first release on the Scottish label. Described in The Sunday Times as being like “Underworld after six pints of mild”, it must be some measure of the robustness of a song if one can sit consecutively through no less than eight variations and not only still be listening by the end of the last version, but still being entertained by it.

A sardonic take on the morally corrupting potential of celebrity culture, this is simultaneously playful and direct. There can’t be many choruses that exalt the merits of having in their words: “Champagne, coke and cunt on tap”. The entry version that opens the EP is a brilliant application of the arm swinging 1960s lounge beat styling but shot through with 90s dance culture sensibilities. There follows seven wide ranging reinterpretations and remixes each providing a new perspective on the core composition. Curious stuff. 7/10

Rob Dyer (November 2010)