The Ex

Dutch anarcho punks the Ex have been making an exhilarating, politically charged racket since 1979. Over the years, the band's sound--at its core a taut No Wave-inspired style of post-punk--has come to incorporate Eastern European folk music, funk, free jazz, Ethiopian music, and other disparate styles. The Ex have maintained a fierce leftist stance, and have fully integrated their political beliefs into their art and lifestyle. Heroes of the underground, and something of a European answer to Fugazi, the band have collaborated with, among others, Sonic Youth and Tortoise, and have made two famed albums with the late cellist Tom Cora.