Ditz – Never Exhale (2025)
Straight out the traps in 2025, Ditz are hitting us with phenomenal use of noise in Never Exhale. It’s been a long time that I’ve been looking forward to an album after hearing one song, but since reviewing ‘Space/Smile’ at the back end of October last year, I’ve been waiting with bated breath to see if this Brighton-based quintet could continue on the trajectory they were on. I was not disappointed.
From the opening track ‘V20’ and its feedback loop building and then crashing into the raw sound of ‘Taxi Man’, with an exploration of personal reckoning and the musing of what stamp we’re going to leave on this world. I especially loved how the band described the taxi man in question as a personification of that moment of reflection, imagining him as the Charon character you’re confronted with before the departure from this life. Following this you’re thrown straight into ‘Space/Smile’ – the track that got me hooked – so I was ready for more!
As the album continued, I was not surprised at all when I discovered a METZ gig was one of the things that brought these guys together, the influence is there for all to see in my opinion. It would be easy to liken Ditz to any of the great post-punk bands at the minute such as IDLES and METZ, but I believe they’ve got their own identity that sets them apart. Their utilisation of noise-rock accompanied with lyrical brilliance is something I’ve not heard since I last saw Shellac before the sad loss of Steve Albini.
As I carried on delving further into Never Exhale, highlights of the record included ‘God on a Speed Dial’ utilising a brilliant riff with a solid bassline which lets chanting vocals shine and show how well they lean into a solid post-punk sound. Straight after a clever change of pace with ‘Smells like Something Died in Here’, a more spoken word approach helps bring the themes of hatred and division.
Next comes for me the track of the album in ‘18 Wheeler’ simply due to how it builds in aggression as the song progresses and by the end is a pure noise-rock masterpiece. The record ends with an example of great album curation with ‘britney’, slowing the tempo down they “build and build” to a crescendo that made me hit repeat and start the record all over again. The more I listened the more I discovered.
It’s only February and I’ve already got an album that when December rolls around will be front and centre of my album of the year conversations. Never Exhale is an album I will be talking about for a long time; it is an album that needs to be heard.
Find out more about Ditz on their Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
