Desperate Living, indeed.

HORSE The Band, one of the most interesting bands around today. An enigma wrapped in a paradox, floating in a pool of sewage. Their fifth album teeters on the brink of brilliance, but unfortunatly just isn’t quit there yet. The album’s jam packed full of great musical ideas that seem to stay with you longer than their previous releases. Titled “Desperate Living” after the notorious John Waters film, the album really embodies how the band has lived through the passed couple years and how it feels about the cannabalistic music business it barely stays a part of.

“Cloudwalker” opens up the album to somewhat odd result. The track really showcases the major changes in the band, mainly turning the focus to keyboardist Erik Engstrom’s synth. It’s a bold choice to put as the first track, because most listeners aren’t going to get what they expect and might get turned off.  Well don’t because this change doesn’t ultimatley become a bad thing as the album progresses.  The songs end up turning from metalcore, to more prog metal with a lot of more experimentation. The third track, “Failure of all Things” is a little more of the HORSE of old. But what makes this track great is that it doesn’t rely on the old hardcore cliches that they’ve used before. Less chug chugs with synth on top, but instead it cleverly builds up to one of the biggest sounding endings on any HORSE song.

The middle of the album features two of the strongest tracks. First off is the tongue and cheek “Science Police”.  Pretty much take “Sex Raptor” and mix it with the music from chemical plant zone in Sonic 2. It ends up having one of the catchiest synth licks HORSE has ever put together. “Shapeshifter”, the albums first “single”, well at least the one they made a video to, has to be the most enjoyable song on the album. Featuring guest vocals by Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, the song really shows how far they’ve come as songwriters and how much range they actually have. The ending, features elaborate synth melodies layered with soft vocals resulting in a truly emotional prog metal piece.

Anther track that features big change is “Lord Gold Wand Of Unyielding (feat. Lord Gold and His Purple Majesty)” With vocals sung by, you guessed it, Lord Gold Throneroom. Well basically it’s got a disco beat with an almost pop rock chorus. Who knew Lord Gold has good pipes? Just after they’ve hit you with a lot of melody, here comes Big Business. A track that’s obviously a tour story, it acts more like the b-sides of previous albums. Finishing off the album are “Rape Escape” and “Arrive”. The first of the two is one of the most interesting songs the band has ever written. A seven minute prog piece thats got a bridge that sounds like a tasteful ode to Crystal Castles, and finishes off with some amazing classical piano that pretty much says, “hey we know what were doing”. The fact that heavy guitar comes in with ear piercing screams of horror over the piano reminds us that it’s still HORSE we’re listening to. Finishing off is “Arrive”, one of the strongest songs on the album. It’s got all we’ve come to know and love about ‘em. Great synth, heavy guitar, and the obligatory gang vocals round out this tasty jam which is sure to bring the ruckus live.

Desperate Living really shows they’re maturing as a band with more focused songwriting and lyrics. The fact that Eric’s synth is leading the band and Nathan is taking a back seat may not be a bad thing, but it is different. If one is expecting more of the same, it didn’t happen. But don’t hold it against ‘em. Just cause a band makes an album that’s different than earlier work doesn’t make it bad. It probably won’t turn any haters of HORSE onto the band, but the feeling that they’re growing may bring in new fans who thought they’re older work was too chaotic and cliche.

Verdict: Rock It!
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