BEX - ‘SCUM’ review
BEX by Joe Westley
We chatted to Guildford trailblazer BEX at Misery Loves Company and she touched on her upcoming EP, SCUM. It's finally time. SCUM drops via Scruff of the Neck this Friday, 27 October, for the Nu-Punk nuisance’s debut EP. Here’s what we thought:
BEX SCUM EP artwork
'Chained Into My Brain' opens things up with a grungy punk note. It reminds me somewhat of System of a Down, but the Down is for Down South. One thing that compliments the track is BEX’s accent, which adds individuality to the lyrics and makes for a memorable opener. Content-wise, it portrays a tortured mindset, with modulated vocals that overlap. It seems written with a live crowd in mind, with the layered voices on the line “say my name” which the crowd can mimic. With an opener like this, BEX’s name will be hard to forget.
The next track, 'Don't Date The Devil', was released in June, just in time for a rock girl summer with a sinister edge. More of that Southern punk vibe is on show, exuding peak Riot Grrrl energy, and is an excellent fit for an EP like SCUM. A personal highlight is a hallmark BEX breakdown on the bass when the line “Don’t date the devil” repeats. 'Don't Date The Devil' also dropped with a music video packed with hectic and raw visuals, and fans got a chance to see BEX’s artistic side beyond their hand-crafted outfits. Ever the storyteller, the track speaks to internal conflict and inner demons, with added gore. It is near Halloween after all.
'Filfy' is a continuation of BEX’s barrelful of bass and angst. Last month they posted some behind-the-scenes footage to go with the music video. This seems to be their particular brand of chaos marked to a tee. At Misery Loves Company Fest, BEX described 'Filfy' as a song where “We all sort of come together and fight back”. It's fitting that “we’re all victims/of someone else’s system” sets off a powder keg of a track against societal norms. The song's performance on Spotify also justifies it getting the spotlight treatment. It's fast catching up to previous singles despite being out for a fraction of the time. The next track, 'Misogynistic D—s' marks uncharted territory as a brand new track. This one works as a perfect follow-on from ‘Filfy’, maintaining that “us vs them, fuck you” vibe, but with the anger ramped up to address societal issues. In the lead up to SCUM, BEX promised a showcase of the “innate sense of what makes her generation tick”. BEX's on-the-pulse songwriting definitely sets this apart from your standard punk track. It's refreshing, catchy, and topically direct. If you don’t like this, you’re the problem.
The EP finishes with two tracks that fans have already had a taste of this year, the first of which is ‘SPYD4 K1NG’. This track has been a live feature for over a year by this point and was the first single to drop off this EP back in May. ‘SPYD4 K1NG’ calls to mind if someone kidnapped ‘I Disagree’ by Poppy and infected it with BEX's “nu-punk” venom. BEX has often cited Rage Against the Machine as a key influence, and the bass line in ‘SPYD4 K1NG’ does seem to reflect that. You can imagine it working its way down Tom Morello’s fretboard. Is it too much to ask for a collab?
'Trust No One' is the final offering on SCUM and could have also served as the opening track with that level of energy. That said, it's a smart choice as the EP-ending track with the lyric "Do you feel ready for me?" serving as a rhetorical question, as opposed to a statement for the rest of the release. The track helps carry the theme of the EP through to its end as well, with "trust no one" as the conclusion. Though that sounds like a somber result, it's not. The hook "I trust no one, I’m going solo just to get it done" is an empowering view, while maintaining the "in your face" SCUM aura. This ends the EP on a bouncy, bassy note and has some enjoyable and flamboyant vocals.
When we chatted to BEX, she offered a brilliantly mature take on this EP, saying:
“I like to look at it as we're growing a tree and this is the roots…It touches on all the things that I'm passionate about, but it doesn't delve into them".
There are few better ways to describe SCUM. It does that, and it does it very well. This EP faces fierce competition as one of many debut EP's this year, but I’d say there are very good odds of it ending the year at the top of a lot of people's lists. BEX ended our interview saying:
“This is just the start, there's so much time to delve into it. There's no point rushing”.
We agree there's no point rushing, but we're very excited for what's next.
SCUM releases on the 27 October on all good streaming platforms. You can catch BEX live on her WELCOME 2 HELL tour in November.