8.3/10
Written by: T.Paine
A band trying to still legitimize itself after “Cutman” (rightfully) made them a metalcore legend a few years back, HORSE the Band continues on its path to self awareness. The problem with HORSE is that they are still somewhere in between taking themselves too seriously or not taking themselves seriously at all. “Desperate Living,” their debut full length on Vagrant Records, suffers from that same identity crisis but is still a solid album nonetheless.
Those cheesy “Nintendocore” synths are still throbbing and keeping HORSE from becoming too generic, but at times, the rest of the band steals the show. The breakdown in the title track is sure to get kids reaching for their bandanas and floor punching for days (do kids still do that?). I hate using the word “mature” to describe a bands sound evolving, but that’s exactly what’s going on here. Also, using a clip from one of my favorite television shows “Xavier: Renegade Angel,” is going to score some bonus points for them too.
Basically, it boils down to this: do you like metalcore? Do you like ‘80s synths? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this is worth a listen. Synth lines in “The Failure of All Things,” “Science Police” and “Rape Escape” make an otherwise slowly moving album feel fresh and fun all the way up until the end. Also check out Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu singing on “Shapeshift.” Those are the highlights of a downright decent album, though honestly without the synth it may have just been another semi-interesting album by a decent band. For the metalcore genre, a boring subset of hardcore, it’s good to see a talented band put out a good album, instead of the tired “screamed-verses-sung choruses-breakdowns-breakdowns-tight jeans-eyeliner-choreographed stage moves-Victory Records cash cow of the week.” Recommended, because honestly, who wants to sit through an album that sounds boring and repetitive? HORSE is always worth a listen, and this album is no different.
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