An Horse have been making quite a bit of noise in the past couple of years, due in part to their friendship with Tegan & Sara, but based largely on the strength of their music. And they do sound a little like the Quin sisters, but without the high production values and pop sensibility.
Singer Kate Cooper doesn’t have a pitch-perfect voice, but she imparts such tremendous personality through her lyrics and her delivery that it doesn’t matter. It has an innate sweetness to it, which makes it seem as though everything is infused with such great regret, and a wry sadness, that despite the relationship breakdowns she remains philosophical about it. It’s as if the coolest girl you ever knew had her heart broken. I guess if I could compare it to anyone, it would be to Sarah McLeod of The Superjesus (remember them?).
This album came out quite a while ago, but it has been re-released with an extra disc of remixes. I’m not sure if they add anything to the overall experience, although a couple of them do an excellent job of turning these direct, slightly slouchy songs into more propulsive, boogie-suitable numbers. And I suppose that is the purpose of a remix, really.
Overall, this is a great album of well-crafted songs that simultaneously possess great depth, tremendous punch and exactly the right amount of lo-fi, grungy guitars.
Originally published at Faster Louder
http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/24140/An-Horse
