There aren’t a lot of big, important messages coursing through the lyrics penned by Timony, the veteran musician (ex-Helium, Wild Flag, Autoclave, Mary Timony Band) who writes most of Ex Hex’s songs. Mostly, she tackles people and relationships, then blows it all out of a cannon preloaded with nails and confetti. Then there’s the rest of the band, hardly sidewomen: Bassist and co-songwriter Betsy Wright burrows right into a groove with effortless cool; and drummer Laura Harris, as focused as an electron microscope, kicks off her shoes to get deep in the zone.

I’d been trying to get Ex Hex into WAMU’s studios for months, but the band took its time in the run-up to its Merge Records debut, Rips. That chunk of noise came tumbling down from rock mountain last week, not long after the band finally stopped by our studio to lay down two wailers from the LP: “Everywhere” and “Don’t Wanna Lose.”

On recording day, the response from inside WAMU HQ gave us a sense of how historic this session would be. Within minutes of Timony’s first solo, staff from WAMU’s Bluegrass Country came in to say they could feel it all the way down the hall.

Mission accomplished.

May Ex Hex’s clamor forever transform nerds into leather-clad rockers! Let it disturb the productivity of a million more office workers! Long live the rock!

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The album, Rips, comes out Oct. 7 in the U.S. and Oct. 13 worldwide, and the new track, “Don’t Wanna Lose,” is another blazing power rocker that bodes well for the full-length. Mitch Easter—known for his studio work with R.E.M. and Pavement and his time in the late jangle-pop band Let’s Active—recorded the record.

Ex Hex consists of longtime guitar shredder Mary Timony, drummer Laura Harris, and bassist Betsy Wright (also of Chain & the Gang). The band plays July 24 at Rock & Roll Hotel and Oct. 5 at Black Cat. Get psyched—and stream “Don’t Wanna Lose” below.