The Exile are among America’s mere handful of deathrock buzz bands. After four years of climbing the live ladder and releasing their debut album last summer, the Santa Ana outfit is now opening for genre legends and finalizing their first tour.
Fronted by the iconic Lex, The Exile are gaining traction not by reimagining deathrock but rather by paying loving homage to the genre’s sepia-tinted mélange of punk rock, horror-movie shock, and glammy goth—albeit with some welcome stylistic surprises. Alongside European influences like Killing Joke and Musta Paraati, they’re steeped in the darker side of throwback SoCal punk, namechecking the likes of 45 Grave, Legal Weapon, and Rikk Agnew’s bands and solo work.
“We all started out as punks. I think you can hear that on our first demo,” mulled Lex over libations at Sunset Strip’s storied Rainbow Bar. “We’re getting a little spookier as it goes down the line; drifting further away from punk and just getting really into deathrock.”
Completed by guitarist Lemon, drummer Rory Price, and (at time of writing) a touring bassist, The Exile came together in 2022. The following year they self-released their Exile 1 EP and were regularly gigging around Orange County, Long Beach, and L.A.
Lex marries intuitive, super-emotive stagecraft to classic dark punk style and strut: the shoulder shrugs of Discharge’s Cal Morris; side-to-side Siouxsie Sioux hair tossing; and hanging arms-length off the mic between phrases like Bollocks-era Johnny Rotten. Singing in both Spanish and English, she spans deadpan first-wave punk to subtle vibrato, feral yelps to full-bodied sustained vowels. Incredibly, The Exile is her first band.
While such a compelling, fashionista figurehead inevitably commands the lion’s share of attention (including in this very article), The Exile is by no means The Lexile. Most of their songwriting begins with riffs from the easy-going Lemon, while Rory is their level-headed, thoughtful pillar with a broad musical background. And off-stage, all three are hands-on with almost every aspect of the band.
A Lament
Released last August, A Lament is The Exile’s definitive statement to date, its eight haunted yet haranguing tracks including convincing forays into echo-drenched dark dub. “We all come heavily from UK82 and traditional U.K. punk and deathrock, and there’s always been a reggae element to those,” Rory explained beneath the gaze of The Rainbow’s famed Lemmy statue. “I love The Ruts; we all love The Specials.”
Recorded largely live at Paradise Recorders in Anaheim with producer Mike Kriebel, A Lament is streaked with subtle acts of single-mindedness amidst its trad deathrock motifs of effected minor-chord guitar; mobile, melodic basslines; and bustling hi-hat/tom-heavy beats. The disco-licious off-beat hats of “Cradle to Grave,” the New Wave-y guitar line snaking through “La Condenación,” and the hypnotic PiL x Bauhaus atmospherics of “Hanging Man” and “Dub 2” confirm that, while The Exile have no desire to reinvent the wheel, their vividly palpable sense of self inevitably seeps through.
The unpretentious rooftop performance video for single “Incantation” stays true to The Exile’s staunchly DIY ethic. They released A Lament only digitally and on cassette, with artwork by Lex, dubbed and assembled at home. Wherever possible, they keep everything within their circle, to the point of turning away third-party offers to release A Lament.
Instruments of Death(rock)
The Exile’s choice of gear is shaped by years of playing on other people's bills, often with only a cursory line-check (though they’ll show up early for a soundcheck whenever one’s offered). The aim is to maintain maximum control over their live sound rather than depending on house engineers who’re likely unfamiliar with their music, firmly prioritizing the musicality of their mix over sheer volume.
“I use the TC Helicon Voicelive Play [vocal effects pedal]—it makes such a difference,” Lex enthused. “I don’t have to rely on the sound guy to get my reverb right—he almost doesn’t need to do anything to my vocals.”
Channeling punk’s protest spirit, Lemon is shunning Fender guitars in response to that company’s recent legal actions against small builders and just adopted Epiphone as an alternative. His amp is a rare vintage red Vox AC30 combo, an OfferUp find. Like most semi-pro drummers, Rory frequently finds himself playing other people’s kits on stage, so he focuses on bringing robust, high-quality breakables.
“I always tell drummers that are starting off, get some good cymbals,” he said. “You don’t even have to get a good snare: just get a big steel snare and tune it up well. And good drum skins can go a long way!” When he does get to use his own gear, Rory plays a 1970s Pearl fiberglass kit with a 14-inch rack tom and an 18-inch on the floor. His snare is a similarly large 7x14-inch Mapex Black Panther, and he’s stayed true to Sabian cymbals since high school orchestra. Unusually, for a punker, he plays to a click.
Next For The Exile
Sharing a table with The Exile for their first-ever interview as a band oozed that singular sense of anticipation that surrounds artists on the cusp of wider recognition. Having recently played their first out-of-state show in Texas, their bookings are getting larger and further afield, with a debut short tour scheduled for September. They just played with OG L.A. deathrockers Kommunity FK, and open for Xmal Deutschland’s Anja Huwe in Santa Ana on August 28.
“It’s not necessarily about leaving some kind of legacy behind,” Rory concluded with characteristic modesty. “It’s more just like this band did it, I can do it too. If they can do it, anyone else can fucking do it.” Or, as Lex put it, “Get off your phone and pick up an instrument!”
