Debonair (studio album) by Horsey

From mdbaxter 09/27/2021 18:59

Interesting sound from a group of clearly talented musicians. I think they could probably stand to work on their songwriting as some songs felt as though they were missing something structurally. They find their stride sporadically throughout the record and put something together that can be considered a good debut and quality listen.

From Mercury 09/15/2021 17:50

(Very strong and promising debut album from this UK art punk/art rock/jazz rock group. Horsey manages to differentiate themselves from the other great young UK bands working in somewhat similar ground.)

2021 I think will be looked back on (by me anyway) as a great year for music. And perhaps the first or one of the first thing that will come to mind as a defining aspect of the year is the resurgence of Post Punk and Art Punk - especially out of the UK. It's hard and, really, damn-near impossible for me NOT to compare this debut album by Horsey to records by some of their contemporaries, namely, Dry Cleaning and their excellent debut, Black Country New Road and their brilliant debut, black midi and their wild second LP, Shame and their powerful second LP, Squid and their rock solid debut, LICE and their mind-bending debut, as well as some good releases by Goat Girl and TV Priest and others. So, I figure I would get the inevitable comparisons out of the way early. This album holds up even in comparison to some of those. I wouldn't say this is on the same level as new black midi or dry cleaning or BCNR. It is even maybe a tier lower than Squid's album and Shame's from this year. Still, their are aspects of this album and band that I love the most of all these bands.

For one, I think the vocalist here is stellar. He sounds like a rabid dog one minute and a fun-loving kid-at-heart the next. And he has a charisma and a power that is lacking in a lot of Horsey's contemporaries. Jacob Read sounds like a maniac on the suitably circus-y side show weirdness "The Clown" and the band contributes to the atmosphere beautifully. On the excellent jazz rock opener "Sippy Cup" he sounds like the coolest mofo in the world and his delivery is winking and fun and just charismatic as hell.

The other thing that I think is strongest here is the Jazz-Rock elements. I wish they expanded upon this sound and focused the arrangements more in this area. The jazz rock tunes here just sound so crisp and work so well with the tight guitar work. black midi may have made one of the best avant prog/jazz fusion albums in years this year, but these Horsey people approached the style with a lot more approachability and a lot less abstraction and it kills.

Overall the album starts off with an atomic bang that made me think each of the 3 times I heard it that this maybe is album of the year or at least in the discussion. The excellent, varied, manic brilliance of "Sippy Cup" to "Arms and Legs" to "Underground" is sensational. The album for me anyway loses focus afterwards. There are still lots of highlights and moments when I can't help but grin at the sounds I'm hearing, but there isn't that same pure shot of energy and creativity there that I adore in the first 1/4 of the record.

I was thinking as I listened the first time that there was a little King Krule influence in these songs and of course I was blown away when King Krule comes in on the closing track "Seahorse". It works really well and his voice kills on that track.

Overall, this is a really strong and promising debut by these blokes and I look forward to future albums. There could be a masterpiece in them if they find their sound and fully flesh it out in the years to come.