Archie Powell & The Exports - Skip Work
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Archie Powell & The Exports are the weekend; they are the late-night moments of glory and the up side of down. Powell leads with an optimistic flare, making light of the difficult and dark things in life (e.g. big moves, heartbreak, pain, etc.). He’s the kind of man working on a dream, one that he – as well as The Exports – all hold close to the heart. It’s this pride and enthusiasm for their dream – that is their music – that carries them through the workweek and allows them to be endearing.
After the band’s well-received Loose Change EP, they moved from Wisconsin to Chicago and recorded their debut LP, Skip Work. It’s an album rooted in good old rock ‘n’ roll, with songs powered by bluesy chord progressions and heady, crunchy power chords. Powell and Co. are a no BS type of band, and it shows in songs like “Enough About Me” and “Fighting Words.” Skip Work is characterized by the straightforward attitude of The Replacements, the working-man ethos of Springsteen, and the powerpop spirit and infectious energy of Elvis Costello. Powell sings with a natural fervor and sounds like a less-nasally, more rock ‘n’ roll version of John Flansburgh – with witty, whimsical, and meaningful lyrics and themes to boot.
