Exit Clov

I didn't go to high school with Exit Clov — hell, I’m not sure they were born back then — but I can guess what lunch tables they sat at. Sweet-voiced twins Emily and Susan Hsu must have been at the table of popular girls who spent their 35 minutes singing, en masse, the current favorite R&B love song. Meanwhile, the Exit Clov boys would have been at the all-male table of A/V geeks, having contests to see how many Beatles songs they could name in sixty seconds. The fact that the five of them ever got together to form a single band is mildly amazing, and the results do our town’s strange culture credit.

In college, the Hsu twins had their own folk combo, playing violin and keyboards and singing in harmony. Drummer John Thayer and bassist Brett Niederman were once the rhythm section of local group the Sneeks. “We met at a party where their band was playing,” says Susan. “We played a few shows together and then decided to join each other’s bands.” Guitar whiz Aaron Leeder soon came on board; had his own band, Adoption Agency, and indeed played some sets separate from the Clov through 2003. Now his wah-wah and fuzz playing command almost as much attention as the singing.

“ The five of us are from very different musical backgrounds,” says Susan, and together they make an unusual breed of music, sometimes compared to Stereolab and Velocity Girl. The Hsus, with input from everyone, write lyrics of social satire, political comment, or youthful alienation. Then the band builds them up into hard rock songs, often turning into prog-rock jams and decorated with solos on guitar, synthesizer and violin. Add the ethereal sound of the twin’s blending voices and it’s a very different mix, one that has won numerous fans. There’s just something charming about hearing high, sweet voices singing “Just ‘cuz you burned down the church in spite of me / Doesn’t mean that they won’t operate.”

Some critics consider songs like standout “MK Ultra”, about CIA mind-control experiments, to be explicitly leftist, but Exit Clov is mostly about turning the topical into rock. “We have political disagreements even within the band,” says Emily. “We try not to take ourselves too seriously.” Perhaps not politically, but they’re nothing but serious about the music. “We want to make something that will survive beyond us,” says John.

It’s a winning formula that has taken “the Clov” on national tours and out to SXSW, with great crowd response and positive mentions in press everywhere. “We have friends all over the country now,” says Aaron. The group is currently working on a full-length release.

For more info, visit www.exitclov.com.