REVIEW: east exchange - torn between ties.
- Julia Stark
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
EAST EXCHANGE haven’t just exploded onto the airwaves this year, they’ve conquered their first festival season that saw them claim slots at 2000 Trees, The Great Escape, and Outbreak to name a few, gaining these laurels and further traction with less than a handful of singles drip-fed to fans over the last year. Fans need wait no longer to drink their musical fill as EAST EXCHANGE launch their debut EP torn between ties, an eagerly anticipated record of powerhouse vocals and quintessential grunge.
It’s a testament to the Liverpool four-piece and lifelong friends who rightfully earned their festival season and growing acclaim from their hard graft, effusive approach to live shows and their fans, and a curated sound that pays homage to the old and new and something in between, a sound that is uniquely theirs and yet calls to their influences. torn between ties feels like a love letter to the 90s grunge that inspired them and a heartfelt text to modern rock, weaving time and genres into a sound that doesn’t fit in any box but fits snugly in your ears.
Having been kicked out of their recording space and resorting to a “freezing, run-down warehouse” to find their sound and bring the vision together, torn between ties sounds entirely confident in who the band want to be and who’s influenced their journey to date. With predominantly 90s grunge laying the base foundation for them, the four-piece combine the gritty riffs of NIRVANA and steady rhythms of SMASHING PUMPKINS with solos and hooks reminiscent of SOUNDGARDEN, whilst injecting modernity with layered clean notes and crafted harmonies, emotionally wrought lyrics, powerhouse vocals and husky tones that will fill the void YOU ME AT SIX have left.
Opening track unspoken. eases us into a melody that feels like it’s rising to a pinnacle of major chords, suddenly flipping the switch into a rhythm that feels granular and unflinching with minor notes underlying the increasingly darkening calls of “you’re broken”. fall. is a tale of desperation, the push/pull of trying to hold onto a love that isn’t right and won’t last, the vocals echoing as a backdrop to a climbing riff before it all comes crashing back down together. lily. isn't merely another “love song”, it's devotion, yearning, a full confession, against soaring guitars and the heartbeat of bass - it's a hair-raising melody that belongs in epic love scenes.
bleed. returns to timeless grunge with filthy beats and reverbed guitar, vocalist Sonny K toeing a line between powerhouse notes and emotionally charged lyrics that roughen his voice. torn. feels like a homage to early FOO FIGHTERS and the definitive power of grunge instrumentals, riffs and beats colliding as the vocals swoop up for a heartstopping moment. Their most recently released single ghost. treads between classic and modern alternative rock, a reverbed guitar ringing out before everything crests into a wave of powerfully driven instrumentals and bitter yells of “do you know my name”, the overwhelming feeling that fills these lyrics painting a story of despair and delivered in a way that feels like Chris Cornell is back with us.
The spirit of 90s grunge and alt-rock has been a feeling chased by so many desperate to recapture the vulnerability, grittiness, and strength that can only be found in anthemic rhythms, substantial hooks, and expressive words. EAST EXCHANGE embody everything we’ve been clinging to for decades and gives it fresh breath, the bittersweet sentiments and gutsy melodies a resurgence of grunge rock.
Score: 9/10
torn between ties. will be released on 4th September 2026 via AWAL.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Dylan Cox
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