Los Angeles grunge-rock band, The Exies, has a little over 250,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. The band had been apart for nearly 13 years, but recently joined forces again in 2024 to release an EP called Closure. Scott Stevens, lead singer and songwriter for The Exies, explains their decisions on coming back together in an interview with Crucial Rhythm, “It wasn't spontaneous. It happened very slowly. So the only decision that was reached was to get in a room together and play some of the songs, how would they feel, and would we even like playing again. We did.” With four albums out and triple that amount in singles and EPs, The Exies' most popular songs are ‘Ugly’, ‘Hey You’, and ‘Stray’.
‘Stray’ is easily my favorite song from The Exies. This song encapsulates the feeling of breaking a promise in a relationship and living with the consequences. The lyrics ‘I never meant to be a liar / The shame is cutting into my skin’ perfectly show this theme. It starts off soft, then slowly incorporates heavier drums, which, I believe, represents the growing guilt of breaking a promise.
Image Source: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5V5NZ8y72BgxpB6rN4XxtI