Hollow Horse
>> Beggarstown
With warming Celtic overtones, Hollow Horse don’t exactly gallop out of the stalls (arf!) but there is something about their optimistic, 80s-indie sound that keeps me nipping back to their album for another listen. It’s in no way an outstanding leap forward in terms of musical exploration but its foundations are so solid and it sticks so assuredly to its musical lineage it’s impossible to immediately dismiss.
Locking into a Wedding Present / Deacon Blue / Gin Blossoms vice of catchy hooks and simple harmonies you think that you recognise songs you’ve never heard – how odd. If I were going to be harsh I’d complain that, at times, the lyrics seem to have stemmed from a poetry night-class of some sort. But the care that’s gone into the work is evident and I can imagine certain low-key groove going on in a live setting. Maybe a bit more of an abstract approach would have kept me on my toes but with songs as nifty as ‘Forget the Girl’ and ‘Life Is Fine…’ I reckon the Horse popping up in an mp3 shuffle will be no bad thing.
Russell Moore
With warming Celtic overtones, Hollow Horse don’t exactly gallop out of the stalls (arf!) but there is something about their optimistic, 80s-indie sound that keeps me nipping back to their album for another listen. It’s in no way an outstanding leap forward in terms of musical exploration but its foundations are so solid and it sticks so assuredly to its musical lineage it’s impossible to immediately dismiss.
Locking into a Wedding Present / Deacon Blue / Gin Blossoms vice of catchy hooks and simple harmonies you think that you recognise songs you’ve never heard – how odd. If I were going to be harsh I’d complain that, at times, the lyrics seem to have stemmed from a poetry night-class of some sort. But the care that’s gone into the work is evident and I can imagine certain low-key groove going on in a live setting. Maybe a bit more of an abstract approach would have kept me on my toes but with songs as nifty as ‘Forget the Girl’ and ‘Life Is Fine…’ I reckon the Horse popping up in an mp3 shuffle will be no bad thing.
Russell Moore
