On their seventh full-length offering, the Melbourne-based outfit EXEK achieves a peculiar kind of transcendence by embracing the very structures they once seemed intent on deconstructing. “Prove The Mountains Move” marks a pivot for the group (comprising chief architect Albert Wolski, guitarist Jai Morris-Smith, drummer Chris Stephenson, synth specialist Andrew Brocchi, trumpeter Valya YL Hooi, and bassist Ben Hepworth), into a territory of surrealist pop that is as lush as it is inscrutable. By filtering their foundational interest in dub and krautrock through a newfound appreciation for the clarity of mainstream melody, the band has produced a record that feels massive yet intimate, a collection of bangers viewed through a funhouse mirror.
The album opens with “Sidestepping,” where levitating synths provide a shimmering canopy for Wolski’s deadpan delivery. There is an immediate sense of a mad scientist at work; the track was built from isolated drum sessions at Pelican Refill Studios, then layered into a melodic density that feels far more intentional than its experimental origins might suggest. This balance of the calculated and the spontaneous carries into “You Have Been Blessed,” a piece of Bowie-esque melancholy that trades in bright colors and focused sonics. Here, the arrangement feels remarkably open, allowing the instruments to luxuriate in a space that was once crowded by post-punk shadows.
A vital element in this expanded palette is the trumpet work of Hooi. Her contributions inject a noir-like atmosphere into the increasingly melodic pop structures, acting as a smoky counterpoint to the electronic precision of the synths. This brass texture provides an organic, haunting presence that tethers the more epic moments of the record to a physical reality. Lyrically, Wolski remains an inhabitant of an abstract milieu, populating “Visiting Dust Bunnies” with scantily clad creatures in a food court, while “Arrivederci Back Pain” leans into the mountainous guitars that underscore a narrative involving an experimental chiropractic business at an airport.
This dissonance between the accessibility of the music and the zaniness of the subject matter is the animating force of the record. The piano work on “Don’t Answer (When They Call)” suggests a level of sophisticated, Abbey Road-inspired production, yet the underlying spirit remains defiantly odd. As the record moves through “Tyres” and “Spotless,” the influence of early-morning party soundtracks, those moments where pop giants seem to speak with the voice of a deity, manifests in a lighthearted, emotional resonance.
The band is clearly reaching for a grandiosity that matches the title of the closing track, “Chef’s Hat Renaissance.” By the time the final notes fade, EXEK has proven that they can move mountains of sound without losing the idiosyncratic spark that makes them essential. ‘Prove The Mountains Move’ is a work of immense creative momentum, a record that finds a strange, beautiful harmony in the contradiction between the direct pull of a vocal hook and the indirect wandering of a wandering mind.
To listen and purchase, please visit: Bandcamp or follow the band’s socials Instagram | Facebook.
