Music World: The Joy of Ex

A line from Pavement’s ‘Trigger Cut’ – “Ex-magician, still knows the tricks” – supplied Danny Todd and James Smith with their moniker. It also sums up the exmagician mission statement pretty well: even if their old outfit, Cashier No.9, are no more, there’s no pretending that everything has changed.

“The two of us were the songwriters for Cashier, so nothing’s altered there,” Danny says, backstage in Whelan’s before the group make their Dublin bow. “If there was another Cashier record, it may well have sounded like this.”
“Evolution is probably the right word,” James agrees. “Some of the songs on the album were even kicking about during the Cashier days, so they’ve been there for that long. If we’re honest, it almost feels slightly old to us at this stage.”
Which in itself sounds slightly mad, because if there’s anything stale or unoriginal on Scan The Blue, then it’s nigh on impossible to discern. Instead, it’s one of the more expansive and exploratory Irish albums in a while. From the psychedelia-soaked ‘Smile To The Gallery’ to the stomping indie-rock of ‘Job Done’, it’s nothing if not expansive. James nods: “It was always going to be pretty big.”
“I think that’s the way we work,” Danny reveals. “We were adding tracks, and exploring every possible idea we have, until Rocky had to step in and say, ‘OK, there’s 200 tracks on this, you might want to start pulling some things out.’”
The Rocky in question is former Oppenheimer man O’Reilly, who collaborated with the duo in producing the record. Having roped in the services of the renowned David Holmes on the only Cashier long-player, To The Death Of Fun, some might raise an eyebrow at the decision to eschew the services of Holmer this time around.
“It was almost a reaction to that album,” James reflects. “Working with him was great, and having him onboard definitely helped us get the foot in some doors. But we handed away quite a lot of control, and he took it in his own direction. This time around, we felt we wanted to be a wee bit more involved, and show off our own skills.”
With perhaps a little more edge and grit than their previous output, it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether the dissolution of Cashier No.9 left an audible imprint on the album.
“I think there’s a reflection of the shit way in which the band fell apart,” James opines – noting that Danny is the lyricist, so he’s as reliant on interpretation as anyone else. “Friendships were broken, and people got upset. It was sad, because we were all good mates for so long.”
Quoting Mercury Rev, Danny smiles ruefully: “Bands, those funny little plans…”
There’s no reticence to plan ahead for exmagician though. Currently remixing their album (and inviting others to get involved too – check out Jackknife Lee’s epic take on ‘Job Done’ on hotpress.com), they’re also lining up a busy summer of touring, with a spate of festival appearances on the schedule. And amongst all that, they’re also busy writing new material – which sounds just as unpredictable as their debut.
“There’s some slower songs on the go, a few waltz/ballad type tunes,” Danny reports. “It’s probably a little more electronic.” He pauses, and grins. “Although I say that now – it could be a death metal record by the time we put it out.”
Because you’d never know what sort of tricks they’re hiding up their sleeves.

Scan The Blue is out now on Bella Union