‘Never Exhale’ is the sound of a band that hasn’t stopped for a breath. DITZ have toured  relentlessly since the release of their first album ‘The Great Regression’ and even before  that, travelling at least 100 days a year since COVID. The songs that form their newest  offering were written across Europe, often on off days and in borrowed rehearsal rooms  just to break up the long drives.  

It could be said that the band treat recording and release of music as an afterthought.  Often playing songs live years before their release, tweaking them as they go. The songs  on the final record may change before they are ever heard as part of the album. 

Formed in late 2015 and playing their first show the following summer, DITZ came  together after vocalist C.A. Francis, guitarist Anton Mocock and bass player Caleb  Remnant went to watch METZ and Lightning Bolt and Concorde 2 in Brighton. “Let’s do  that.” A few shows in they picked up current guitarist Jack Looker, although his original  position was behind the drum kit. After a few singles such as ‘Seeking Arrangement’,  ‘Gayboy’ and ‘Total 90’, the band arrived at its current lineup with Sam Evans joining on drums. This was summer 2019. The band embarked on their first proper headline tour at  the start of 2020, completing it just before the world shut down. They made use of this  time wisely, holing up in the closed pub that Sam lived in an worked at to write parts of  their first album. As soon as they could play shows again, they did, managing to get  several tours under their belt before the release of their debut album “The Great  Regression” in 2022. One of these tours was dubbed “the brexit tour” by the band. “We  got in a van and tried to play the most random small towns we could, often just to the  opening bands and some regulars. It was character building trying to win over these  audiences that really couldn’t give a shit. Chichester was a particular highlight.” Francis  remarks.  

After the album’s release things began to take off for the band, shows started selling  out, both in the UK and Europe, publications such as Pitchfork heaped praise on the  album and the band had to start thinking about writing another. The problem was that  they were always on the road. The answer was to write them on days off, the result is an  album that reflects the sound of the road.  

‘Never Exhale’ was largely recorded at Holy Mountain studios in London during a  freezing cold January. The process was fraught with obstacles. The original plan, to go  and record in Rhode Island, was abandoned when DITZ were offered a support tour with  IDLES, although the album was still mixed by the originally intended engineer, Seth 

Manchester (Model/Actriz, Lingua Ignota, Big Brave). The result is an album hardened by  the pressure of its own making. Laboured but not loved.  

The album themes reveal themselves more on further listens. The opening gambit ‘Taxi  Man’ is an exploration into what it would be like to weigh up your impact on the world.  The eponymous taxi man could be seen as a St Peter type figure, or like Charon, ferrying  the dead into the underworld. The song was written in Cologne on the second day of a  two-day songwriting session. The first day was a bust. Nothing was achieved outside of  general frustration between the band members. The atmosphere was soured by months  on the road. This carried on the next day, the band members reluctantly arriving  separately in drips and drabs. As if out nowhere, Looker came up with the central riff  which was quickly strengthened by Remnant’s contribution. The lyrics came from poem  written by Francis in the Taxi Ride home the previous day.  

Further on the album explores themes of unnecessary hatred and division in ‘Space/Smile’ and ‘It Smells Like Something Died In Here’, ‘Senor Siniestro’ looks at  aging and in ‘The Body As A Structure’the separation of the physical from an ingrained  sense of reality. It’s political, but ultimately personal. More Genet or Kafka than Orwell  or Huxley.  

Sonically the album has its roots in the usual DITZ influences, classic noise rock such  as The Jesus Lizard or Shellac, or the obtuse post punk of the Fall, but also brings in  fresh influences. ‘Space/Smile’ in particular holds these references aloft. The initial  demo was a slower affair written by Remnant, revved up in the rehearsal room by the  fury the track demanded. The closing track ‘Britney’, could be compared to Radiohead  or Mogwai. Jack wrote the initial version of the instrumental on weekend at home with  family. It was an attempt to reconcile two different emotions. It was tentatively shared  with the rest of the band, Looker believing they would pass on something so different  from what they’ve previously released. He was wrong and they embraced the chance for  experimentation. Francis’s lyrics reflecting the vulnerability of the instrumental.  

Overall the album is a clear development from their first effort. A sign of things to come