by Elizabeth Braaten (@elizabethbwords)
Austin-based post-punk band Exercise returned with their second full-length album, Ipso Facto. The group’s sonic blend of rock and pop ensures the project exudes an upbeat, joyful energy, while its emotionally vulnerable lyricism is an introspective, intimate reflection on grief, pain, and loss. Ipso Facto is a brilliant album that speaks from the heart from start to finish, serving as a vivid representation of the long journey the group has experienced to get here.
Exercise first began as the solo project of lead vocalist and songwriter Corey Anderson, but he didn’t continue on his own for long, soon adding Keller LeVine on keyboard and vocals. From there, Nick Capezzuto (bass), David Snyder (drums) and Dan LeVine (guitar) joined, throwing their unique skill sets into the mix. When Keller tragically passed away in 2020, Anderson, Capezzuto, Snyder, and LeVine became determined to honor her memory through their work as Exercise.
In 2022, they set out to record their second album in Alpine, Texas, with friend and collaborator Ian Rundell. While there, they channeled everything they were feeling into crafting new music. Deeply affected by the untimely passing of Keller, the group wrote and recorded a fresh group of songs, painting a poignant portrait of the mourning and self-examination one experiences in the wake of losing someone they care strongly for. From these recording sessions emerged Ipso Facto, a courageously vulnerable project that invites us as listeners to turn inward and find hope and solace by embarking on our own journeys of healing — wherever they may lead us.
“Shriners,” the energetic album opener, is also one of the project’s standouts, both for its driving post-punk guitar riffs and raw refrain (“Right here and now, in this eternal moment, I am a loser forever and ever”). “Glue” meanwhile, is an explosive track with a frantic bass line and sanguine riffs that drive home the song’s heartbreaking chorus (“It is so fucking unfair what happened to you”). The gentle, uplifting message of poppy grunge track “Lawn Chairs” (“No more fearing, just let go of your resentments, and just show up”) lets us as listeners know that we are not alone, encouraging us to find a way to move forward in the wake of each of our personal struggles.
Ipso Facto is, at its core, a true labor of love from a group determined to create something beautiful in the face of unthinkable tragedy. It’s heartbreaking, hopeful, and everything in between, as Exercise bravely chronicles the complete spectrum of human feeling present during the grieving process. Ipso Facto speaks to the power of emotional vulnerability, the catharsis that can be found in creative expression — and, perhaps most of all, the group’s enduring love for Keller LeVine.