After going through countless lineup changes, a pair of self-supported world tours spanning more than 35 different countries and four different albums on three separate labels, HORSE the Band finally achieved its career-long goal of getting signed to Vagrant Records - home of Senses Fail, Placebo and Rammstein to name a few.
"Desperate Living," HTB's Vagrant debut, offers up the band's trademark blend of metalcore and post-rock complete with furious screaming vocals, whirlwind guitars and, oh yeah, plenty of the bleeps, blips and bloops that have helped make the "Nintendocore" pioneers such a unique band. HTB's latest effort is more focused and powerful than any of its predecessors.
While vocalist Nathan Winneke's lyric-writing ability has progressed significantly since songs about squishing bunnies and his fear of eggs earlier in his career, he hasn't gone completely serious. "HORSE the Song" is a shameless self-promotional anthem befitting a band that wastes no time calling itself the "coolest band in the world" in its Web site bio.
Musically, the band's sound has matured greatly on "Desperate Living," especially with regards to the eight-bit, video game-inspired synthesizers from Erik Engstrom. The sounds have moved beyond being a fun novelty gimmick to a legitimate musical accompaniment to the rest of the band. On songs like "Desperate Living" and "Between the Trees" Engstrom mixes in interludes of sparser, more ambient synths reminiscent of Boards of Canada among the furious bevies of Super Mario-esque beeps.
The evolution of the band's sound is particularly noticeable on the bouncy, infectious "Science Police," which tones back the screams and guitars in favor of a more straightforward rock approach that is softer than the rest of the album, though the final product is no less energetic or catchy.
"The Failure of All Things" and "Between the Trees" are furious, unrelenting heavy hitters. "Shapeshift," which features Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart who produced most of the album, is a genre-defying masterpiece that seamlessly moves from hardcore metal to prog-rock.
The experimentation doesn't always work out, however. "Cloudwalker" is a bit too schizophrenic, never settling on what it wants to sound like for a long enough time to be truly memorable, while on the flip side, "Arrive" is a bit too restrained when held up against the rest of the album.
When it does work, however, (and throughout the majority of the album it does) the end result is easily HTB's most memorable album and a solidification of its status as one of their genre's most unique, forward-thinking bands.
Check Out: "The Failure of All Things," "HORSE the Song," "Science Police"
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