In January 1993 the artists entered the Friends Studio in Amsterdam when they recorded 16 songs with Dolf Planteijdt, along with regular collaborator Johannes van der Weert adding to the group's vocal line-up.

And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders and its predecessor, Scrabbling at the Lock, brought wider attention to both The Ex and Toma Cora as "crossover" records that bridged a perceived gap between punk rock and avant-garde music.

The Ex push Cora to play more directly than usual, while his improvisational chops and broad musical vocabulary have facilitated the live realization of the promise shown on Joggers and Smoggers [...] his delicately plucked accents articulate the Oriental flavor of "Okinawa Mon Amour."

He may be only one player, but he has an unusually broad and exotic musical vocabulary, and with his assistance the Ex can now improvise and successfully interpret European and Asian folk songs onstage.

Sok to run off at the mouth and sound good doing it: "What's the Story" (with lyrics taken from an interview with film director Sam Fuller) and the hilarious fake materialist manifesto, "Everything & Me.""