MX LONELY Unleash Cathartic New Single “Ex Rae Punk” Featuring Caitlin Starr
Brooklyn alt-rockers MX LONELY have shared “Ex Rae Punk,” a pummelling new single featuring Caitlin Starr, as they gear up for their forthcoming EP PERFECT HOUSE.
Arriving ahead of the EP’s October 2 release via Julia’s War Recordings, “Ex Rae Punk” turns the wreckage of a breakup into something loud, visceral and deeply cathartic. Named for vocalist and synthesist Rae Haas, the track circles the lingering pull of meaningful relationships before erupting into a layered maelstrom of guitars.
Haas describes the song as being about loving someone so intensely that you spend the rest of your life searching for fragments of them. The track also reaches back to the band’s earliest days, reimagining a song Haas originally wrote with guitarist Jake Harms in 2019, when the pair were making music as v0idb0ys.
The new version came together last winter when Haas played the song acoustically for Caitlin Starr. Their harmonies clicked immediately, prompting the band to resurrect the heavier “punk” version — complete with Starr’s guitar contribution.
“Ex Rae Punk” follows “March 16th (Feat. Caitlin Starr),” which helped announce PERFECT HOUSE with an explosive music video directed by Owen Lehman. The track takes its own trip through the highs and lows of a complicated relationship, building toward a full-blown vocal and instrumental release.
PERFECT HOUSE follows MX LONELY’s debut full-length, ALL MONSTERS, released earlier this year. The album established the Brooklyn four-piece’s murky, heavy strain of alt-rock, combining cavernous guitars and soaring vocals while confronting themes including trauma, addiction, neurodivergence and self-doubt. It subsequently picked up praise from Pitchfork, NPR Music, Alternative Press, Stereogum, Paste and others.
But if ALL MONSTERS went searching for darkness, PERFECT HOUSE brings it home. The band describes the new EP as a collection of “love letters about a house burning down” — something that looks beautiful from the outside while quietly coming apart within. The four tracks were built from basement demos recorded by the band, with friends including Starr and Connor of Wiring joining the sessions.
MX LONELY will celebrate the EP with a release show at The Meadows in Brooklyn on October 8, before heading to Europe for their debut headline tour. The run includes appearances at London Calling Festival and Pitchfork London, alongside dates across France, the UK, Ireland and Greece.** PERFECT HOUSE arrives October 2 via Julia’s War Recordings. “Ex Rae Punk (feat. Caitlin Starr)” is out now.**
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