HORSE the Band is a curious oddity on the modern musical landscape. They do not have much in the way of mainstream name recognition, but they do have a highly dedicated following. They are self-proclaimed practitioners of nintendo-core.
Yes, you read that right. It is small, to my knowledge, sub-genre of post-hardcore/screamo that integrates 8 bit synthesizers to bring to memory the music of games from the original Nintendo system. Think Mastodon in a mash up with Metroid and Super Mario Brothers 2. It's odd to be sure, but definitely a step in the direction of originality. A Natural Death is their third full length release, and first since 2005's The Mechanical Hand. To my ears, it is a step up from that earlier release, it features stronger songwriting but does not stray too far from the elements that make them stand out.
In a press release keyboardist Erik Engstrom spoke of the new album, "A Natural Death is about the futility and arrogance of creation and destruction, the overwhelming scale of space and time, and the brutal majesty of nature, the horror of birth and the beauty of death. Everyone who will ever live will die a natural death, and will soon after be forgotten for eternity. Hopefully this album will serve as a warning to the human race to stop taking itself so seriously, as we have seen the dire consequences of its actions in the future. You are nothing."
Interesting, but that also points to one of the things that has turned me away from the band as a personality outside of their music. They have a bit of a self-important pretentiousness to them. I am sure it is at least partially tongue in cheek, as they have a decidedly offbeat sense of humor, but reading quotes like that just make me want to ignore their interviews and just stick with the music. OK, enough of that.
A Natural Death is a lot of fun. It is out on the fringe, but it is so damned intriguing. It is the kind of music that, when you first hear it, you will have one of two reactions. The first would be to just write it off as nonsensical bollocks, turn it off, never look back, and get on with someother music listening. The other would be to be curious, for good or bad, and continue listening to it. I fall into the latter category.
I first became aware of the band earlier this year when I got my hands on a copy of The Mechanical Hand, an album where I covered similar ground in the two reaction possibilities (something I still hold to be true). That album was intriguing, I didn't love it, but I loved the experimentation that it represented. In addition to that, I also got to see them live, and that is a unique experience.
Article comments
1 - matias
i knew this band 6 months ago, instantly love them, that experimental spirit it's exquisite, and I have to tell you that I do agree with your opinion on its evolution, the disc To Natural Death demonstrates it perfectly, men, they blown away my musical stereotypes
2 - matias
this damned translator, this happens for being lazy, a natural death should be