Ex Cops

Ex Cops, a nomadic duo featuring Amalie Bruun and Brian Harding, brings the hook-heavy blast of ‘90s alt-rock into a new era on their second album Daggers. Executive produced by icon-of-form Billy Corgan and produced by Justin Raisen (Sky Ferriera, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue), the record rescues guitar-pop from the bedroom, returning it to the stage it deserves.

Formed in 2011, the group’s first album True Hallucinations, released in early 2013, was a critically-acclaimed collection of sprawling indie-pop. From the exuberant “Spring Break (Birthday Song)” to the band’s dreamy debut “You Are A Lion, I Am A Lamb,” the John Siket-produced record (Blonde Redhead, Yo La Tengo) was a genre-jumping opening salvo and its wall-to-wall guitars set the tone for their new album. 

Daggers is a musical about-face, though. “We are not afraid of our favorite music anymore,” says Harding. “It’s pop.” Billy Corgan, in addition to sharing the band’s love of ABBA and taking them to their first wrestling match, provided form and texture to the new tracks over a two-week period in Chicago. The band then took the material to LA for tracking with Raisen and continued collaborating with artists like Ariel Pink, who co-wrote “Burnt Out Love” and features on “Tragically Alright.” 

The result reinvents modern rock. “White Noise,” with its addictive chorus, merges guitars that could make your teeth ache and a motorik electronic pop pulse. The impeccably-produced “Teenagers” brings club-ready downtown pop to an anthemic peak, while “Black Soap” shifts shoegaze textures to stadium status and “Rooms,” one of the album’s emotionally-resonant ballads, packs a substantial punch.