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CountryCool.com - February 11, 2000
John Hood

Look no further than The Ex-Husbands, a Nashville-based power country trio, if you want to see the future of outlaw country music. The Ex-Husbands have been together as a band for over eight years and it shows in their incendiary live show. Their latest album, ...All Gussied Up, on Tar Hut Records recently cracked the Top 10 on Gavin 's Americana Chart.

A masterful mix of traditional-sounding country music served with rock 'n' roll fervor, the album solidifies The Ex-Husbands' reputation as one of best honky-tonk bands in America. The Ex-Husbands play country music with attitude and they play it loud, but above all, they play it well. They get a remarkably full sound for a trio that features Anders Thomsen on vocals/guitar, Mark A. Miller on vocals/bass and Michael Howard Smith on drums/percussion.

The band's straight-ahead country and honky-tonk irreverence are evident in such songs as "Gear Jammin' Daddy," "Monkey In The Middle," and "I'm Just A Honky." When asked about the band's sound, the same irreverence comes through. "It's about having fun. We're about sweat," says Miller, "and with the more mainstream country acts, it's about not sweating. You know what I mean? Drinking, dancing and enjoying yourself, that's what we're about—having fun." "Sometimes we play some music," says Thomsen.

The band is out on tour in support of the new album. Life on the road is nothing new to The Ex-Husbands—they did over 180 dates in both of the last two years. So, how do they feel about hitting the clubs again? "We're gonna drive around in a van for a while," says Thomsen. "We've got new tires, so we gotta wear 'em out," adds Miller. "We've got a full spring that's falling into place now. We're gonna head back out to the West Coast at some point."

Santa Fe New Mexican
Terrell’s Tune-up ... Feb. 11, 2000
Steve Terrell

All Gussied Up by The Ex-Husbands. “Sing another honky-tonk song/Tell another story ’bout a love gone wrong.” The Ex-Husbands follow their own advice quite well. The C&W power trio, which formed in New York and a couple years ago relocated to Nashville, specializes in good-rockin’, hard-twangin’ tunes about the honky-tonk life — a world of beer joints, broken hearts, and fried chicken wings by the pound, with dozens of stories on any sawdust dance floor. On All Gussied Up, their second album on Tar Hut Records, the Hubbies incorporate a bluesier, Southern-rock sound on several cuts. That works even when the band plays tribute to their northeastern roots on the song Flat Broke in Hoboken. I’m Just a Honky, their funniest — and best — cut here, is about a dude who’s “livin’ in sin at the Sundown Inn.” The song features a cool slide guitar and sounds like a great lost Charlie Daniels song: “I’m just a honky livin’ in a cheap motel/I keep my pistol on the TV by them little white bags I sell.” Sure it’s a joke but that silly song has more honesty in it than you’ll get in a whole week of listening to so-called country radio.

Audiogalaxy.com - January 3, 2000
Jenni Sperandeo

With what is quite possibly the greatest name for a country band EVER, country cock-rock power trio, The Ex-Husbands, simply must have the goods to do it justice. If Anders Thomsen were doing anything besides singing in a country band, it would be a crying shame. As a lawyer, dentist or garbageman his gorgeous baritone voice would be wasted. Thankfully for us he's out there slinging his Telecaster and singing about beer bottles and broken hearts as frontman for country cock-rock power trio The Ex-Husbands. The Ex-Husbands stick close to the finest traditions of Manly-Man, trucker, country music while adding their own distinctive city boy flair. The music's obvious reverence for Merle Haggard, George Jones and Johnny Cash is tempered with healthy doses of the Rolling Stones and AC/DC, resulting in a thoroughly modern country rock blend. Mark Miller's rock-solid basslines and Michael Howard Smith's economical drumming keep the train on the tracks while Thomsen preaches the gospel of drinkin', drivin', lovin' and leavin'. From their second release, All Gussied Up, "Line Forms On The Right" is quintessential Ex-Husbands: energetic, heartfelt, genuine roadhouse fun. In true honky-tonk tradition, these guys are certified road warriors with thousands of miles on their van and plenty of hours on stage, making them one of the tightest and most entertaining shows you're likely to see. In addition to their two albums worth of originals, the band is known and loved far and wide for their wide selection of crowd-pleasing covers of everything from ZZ Top to Bill Monroe. If you have not yet been convinced enough to download "Line Forms On The Right", consider this: With what is quite possibly the greatest name for a country band EVER, the Ex-Husbands simply must have the goods to do it justice. Otherwise they would have been beaten to a bloody pulp by a bunch of truckers a long time ago.

From real, red-blooded fans on Amazon.com:
They Just Rock! *****
Reviewer: Peter S Stiles from Austin, TX January 4, 2000
Never before has a 3 piece caused such mayhem in a bar. Close your eyes and imagine tequila raining down from the ceiling!

the real C&W ****
Reviewer: Michael Toland from Austin, TX December 30, 1999
Though they're from Nashville, the Ex-Husbands play hardcore honkytonk country & western the way it was meant to be played. Just guitar, bass, drums, classic country baritone vocals and no bullfeces songs about cheatin' lyin' lovin' and livin'. Don't let the semi-jokey titles fool you; they don't do novelty songs, they just laugh to keep from crying. Any serious country fan will dig this immensely.

Country Standard Times - December, 1999
James Mann
The second effort by The Ex-Husbands is a tear-stained, beer-soaked balm for the broken hearted. From the top-notch songwriting and Hall of Fame vocals of Anders Thompson (whose Telecaster picking is A-One as well), to the bass and vocals of Mark Miller and the rock solid drumming of Michael Smith, this threesome might be the best country trio since Johnny Cash played prisons.

Songs such as "Line Forms on the Right" and "Memories Ain't Allowed" should become the rallying cries of the barstool lonely and blue everywhere, and the twang boogie of "I'm Just a Honky" or the ZZ Top-laced "Beer Joints" are juke-joint mating calls. Thompson and company have long been regarded as a top-notch live act, and with this release they take a step toward the stage of the Opry with a consistently great record, the kind you don't hear too often any more - country music by and for grown-ups. If you listen to this record and your heart doesn't remember past loves, then son, somebody stole your pumper.

Freight Train Boogie
The Ex-Husbands...All Gussied Up ... (Tar Hut) ****
I'll never forget seeing these guys at a record label's barbecue earlier this year at South By Southwest. When the scheduled band didn't show up, The Ex-Husbands jumped onstage, plugged in, and proceeded to tear the place up for the next 20 minutes. Hard drivin' Honky Tonk is what they specialize in, not too hard and not too fast. They throw in a few Blues shuffles and ballads but it's mostly 2 minute songs: get in there, do it and get out fast. These New Yorkers have more taste and style when it comes to real country then half of Tennessee and I'm not kidding. Credit goes to principle songwriter Anders Thomsen who plays some fine guitar and has a great voice. It's all pretty much straight-ahead in-your-face rockin' twangin' stuff. What's even more remarkable is they're only a trio! What's even more remarkable is they're only a trio! No guest stars, no fiddles and banjos, just original songs played well with verve and passion.

Seattle Rocket, November, 1999
Deborah Malarek

The Ex-Husbands play a blend of Exile on Mainstreet country rock and straight ahead honky-tonk that's made to be heard in a smoky bar where beer's being spilled and hearts are being broken. Instrumentally, they're a power-house three-piece comprised of guitar, bass and drums. Lead singer and guitarist Anders Thomsen has a baritone made for singing truck-driving songs like "Gear Jammin' Daddy," a tune from the band's recently released All Gussied Up. This follow-up to their self-titled debut delivers with titles like "Flat Broke In Hoboken," Beer Joints," and "I'm Just A Honky," but in the show they're likely to pull out an AC/DC cover.

All Music Guide, November, 1999
Cub Koda

"All Gussied Up" Here's a great, straight ahead modern day country album. There's real honky tonk blood and guts in this music and singer-guitarist Anders Thomsen is about as real as the deal gets. Thomsen's plummy baritone vocals and twang perfect Telecaster guitar accompaniment fits like a glove with Michael Howard Smith's simple but kickass drumming and Mark Miller's equally succinct bass work. In between the regular tracks are portions of a sermon being delivered by a drunk preacher, surreally great in and of itself. The perfect aural antidote to Garth and Shania, it doesn't get much better than this.

Barnes & Noble, November, 1999
David McGee - Editor

A country preacher welcomes you to the Ex-Husbands' second album, offers a blessing at the close, and pops up intermittently throughout to emphasize the sacred nature of these proceedings. For a bunch of New York City cats, the Ex-'s sound like they've done time in some deep South dives, where they learned to live right. Evoking the ethos of the rowdy, smoke-filled honky tonk with a lot of fussin' and feudin', drinkin' and dancin' going on, ALL GUSSIED UP arrives ready to rock the joint with some tough roadhouse blues and razor-edged rockers with a hard country twist. Anders Thomsen's original songs brim with wit and perception about the games people play, and the hearts broken in the aftermath, and he brings his observations to vivid life with a world-weary baritone of classic dimensions. Around him the Ex's rumble ferociously but not without subtlety -- every smart riff and instrumental fill has a purpose, and the solos burn righteously and note-perfect. Webb Pierce would understand this music way down deep; bet George Jones does too. This is the real deal.

Rural Route Twangzine, November, 1999
Jeff Wall

The Ex-Husbands - All Gussied Up
Jeff over at Tar Hut Records sent this to me. He likes music that sucks. He's a Neil Diamond fan for Christ sakes. Why not just brand LOSER on your forehead? Jeff must really hate this record because IT KICKS ASS!!!! Shit fire and save matches, I'm telling you, this is the greatest thing since cable television remote controls and home pregnancy test kits. I'm telling you boys and girls, this is one of the best things without a banjo on it released all year! It's honky tonk of the likes of which you ain't never heard before. It kicks off with the Buck Owens'ish "The Line Forms on the Right". From there it slides into an extra crunchy Telecaster driven roadhouse "On Up the Road." I can't decide who the Ex-Husbands remind me of. They bring to mind the best of Buck, Commander Cody, and ZZ Top (before they sucked). There's lots of great hooks. Excellent songwriting throughout and extremely tasty picking. Lead singer, writer, guitar picker Anders Thomsen has a sexy as hell country baritone. Bassist Mark Miller adds harmony and even takes the lead a couple of times. Michael Howard Smith rounds out the band on drums. How in the hell can three people make this full a sound? This disc will have your fat ass up off the couch and dancing across the living room before the first song is done. Hopefully your chicken fried steak and gravy clogged heart can hold out til the end of the disc before having the big one. Because that's where lowered their hat brims and decided to strut. "I'm Just a Honky" is made to be played loud and proud. I dare you not to play air guitar and sing along. This song should have been on ZZ Top's Fandango album. Maybe Tarhut Jeff is finally getting his shit together, because this is one hell of a fine disc. Tell him I said so.

City Beat/Cincinatti, October, 1999
Mike Breen

You know that commercial where some cowboys are gathered around the campfire, talking chip salsa (as cowboys do) and exclaiming in disbelief at the geographic origins of one of their options? "New York City!?," they exclaim. The Big Apple may not make cowboy-friendly dip, but, with The Ex-Husbands, it's clear that it can spit out an excellent Country (yes, Country) band. The trio gets the AltCountry tag, but anymore that seems to be used for any act that doesn't sound like Garth Brooks and Dunn, or any of the other slick commercial acts riding the top of the Country charts. The group's latest, All Gussied Up, is classic, to-the-point Country, powered by some superb guitar playing and George Jones-ish baritone vocals from leader/songwriter Anders Thomsen. The Ex-Husbands play absolutely undiluted Outlaw Country in its purest, blissfully timeless form. Waylon, Willie and Merle would be proud to know that some mamas did let their babies grow up to be cowboys.

No Depression , Nov-Dec, 1999 (This review sucks, so feel free to ignore it.)
Dan Moser

The Ex-Husband's sophomore effort finds them sounding a bit stale. Which is not to say that their 1996 debut was particularly original or groundbreaking, but it got by on plenty of vim and vigor -- just the sort of attitude you'd expect from New York City. And there were some pretty good songs, too.

All Gussied Up, on the other hand, feels mostly attitude -- perhaps an ironic development, since the band relocated to the songwriting center of Nashville a couple years ago. Numbers such as "Another Honky Tonk Song", "Another Beer Joint", "Gear Jammin' Daddy" and "I'm Just A Honky" are as cliched as you'd guess from their titles. Even the better songs seem bogged down in the uninspired, heard-it-all-before playing.

Still, Anders Thomsen has a fine baritone voice and is capable of some pretty nifty turns of phrase. On "Up The Road", he refers to the Midwest as "where the corn and the Chevrolets grow," and "Flat Broke in Hoboken" tells an entertaining little tale. Chalk All Gussied Up as a holding pattern.