Dead Ringers, the forthcoming full-length from HORSEBACK,
is a lush, heady, and singular blend of organic and synthetic textures.
The new LP sees the one-man Chapel Hill, North Carolina experimental
project continuing to evolve while staying true to its distinctive
sound. Written, produced, engineered, and mixed by mastermind Jenks
Miller, Dead Ringers finds HORSEBACK weaving a bright web
of drone, krautrock, shoegaze, metal, and psychedelic elements, driven
by wispy guitars, synths, beats, and clean vocals, and bolstered by
dense layers of hypnotic resonance. The music is heavy yet light,
stretching across eight tracks (including one mammoth seventeen-minute
epic). Taking influence from the doomiest grooves and the nuance of
minimal electronics, Dead Ringers is the most cohesive representation of HORSEBACK's musical vision to date.
Hear the first new song from Dead Ringers in the form of "Shape Of The One Thing" now at THIS LOCATION.
Dead Ringers is set for release on August 12th via Relapse on CD/2xLP/digitally. Physical preorder packages are available via Relapse.com at THIS LOCATION; digital preorders can be found via the band's BandCamp page HERE.
Dead Ringers Track-Listing:
1. Modern Pull
2. Shape Of The One Thing
3. A Bolt From Blue
4. The Cord Itself
5. Lion Killer
6. In Another Time, In And Out Of Form
7. Larkspur
8. Descended From The Crown
If HORSEBACK's
records seem heavy - as in, heavier even than most of their droning
metal contemporaries - there is a reason for that. Jenks Miller, the
sole member of HORSEBACK, finds inspiration from the heaviest subject matter of them all: the apocalypse. Shaking, buzzing, and constantly moving, HORSEBACK's
music tends to exist in its own strange world, where the distorted
swagger of Neil Young's Crazy Horse sits at a table next to the haunted
dronescapes of Sunn O))). As Pitchfork Media describes it, the band's
sound encompasses, "metal ugliness and heartland beauty, post-rock at
its most spartan and hard rock at its most out-there." The Chapel
Hill-based Jenks Miller has almost single-handedly created the grim,
swirling cacophony (with the occasional help of a studio drummer) that
has come to define HORSEBACK's studio recordings since the 2007 release of the debut album Impale Golden Horn on Burly Time (later to be reissued by Relapse).
Since 2007, HORSEBACK's discography and renown have expanded significantly. 2009's epic The Invisible Mountain (Utech Records) and 2010's cassette-only Forbidden Planet (Brave Mysteries) were both re-released upon the band's signing to Relapse Records, in addition to the numerous splits HORSEBACK has released with artists such as Pyramids, Locrian, and Voltigeurs. Half Blood, released in late spring 2012, marked something of a critical breakthrough for HORSEBACK.
NPR called the record, "a celebration of light through darkness," and
brought the band's slithering howl to its largest audience yet. Since
the release of Half Blood, the band has also produced a three-CD
compilation of rarities (via Relapse), multiple splits and EPs, and two
highly-acclaimed new full-lengths (Three Lobed Recordings).
HORSEBACK's
live appearances, although rare, have also been highly acclaimed; an
enormous, full-band embodiment of the singular sequestered HORSEBACK sound from the recordings. Though dormant on the live circuit since 2011, HORSEBACK
has appeared at renowned events including Utech Records Music Festival,
Boomslang Festival, and Hopscotch Music Festival and has performed with
acts as diverse as The Atlas Moth, Hull, and Noveller. Most
significantly, HORSEBACK is the rare band whose music becomes a
journey in and of itself; each album is a living thing, growing and
shifting with every listen. Dead Ringers,HORSEBACK's
newest full-length album, is a lush, heady, and singular blend of
organic and synthetic textures, the logical next step in Miller's
powerful identity and crushing, immaculate legacy.
Comments