This debut full-length from Vancouvers They Shoot Horses Dont They? has caged the frenetic, jittery, shimmering energy and impulsiveness. With haphazard horns, shout outs from a Casio keyboard, and skittering guitars and drums, the band are able to create a varying sound with each song, so that each track on this album is a small surprise. With the number of members standing at eight, the sound coming out from these Horses is one that simultaneously reflects a group of individuals while creating a style that unifies them. At one moment the noise can be a full-on, off-kilter cacophonic indie rock symphony, while the next turn can be found wallowing in lo-fi rumbles, while vocalist Nut Brown has no problem losing himself in whatever comes next. This is an album full of songs that are vivid and alive.
This albums release comes at a time when bands with more instruments and members than is traditional are finding a solid fan base. Did you anticipate that this would hurt or help the album? Brown: They way we see it is that were just a band with a horn section. Were a big band but I dont think it necessarily compares to those other bands. Our horn section is one person more or less; they have one mind, so essentially were really just a five-piece.
There are undeniably upbeat aspects throughout your album, but they lyrics carry a lot of seriousness. I think that thats going on, for sure. Its not our intention necessarily to make fun, more celebratory music. I dont think the lyrics are in complete opposition to the vibe of the music. Where some people might hear the music as being "fun time, goofy-type grooves, other people, and myself included, probably seem to hear more of an anxious, speedy freak-out type thing.
Many of the songs sound like they could be music from an old movie, as if the songs can create mental images as they play out. Its certainly not conscious as far as an idea that we have to do things. A lot of us come from a visual arts background. Those kinds of things are much more important to us rather than fingers moving or how tight the band is. Images and feelings: a lot of it has to do with a state, like energy, like us playing together and getting into a frenzy and the spontaneous stuff that can kind of happen out of that.
(Kill Rock Stars)This albums release comes at a time when bands with more instruments and members than is traditional are finding a solid fan base. Did you anticipate that this would hurt or help the album? Brown: They way we see it is that were just a band with a horn section. Were a big band but I dont think it necessarily compares to those other bands. Our horn section is one person more or less; they have one mind, so essentially were really just a five-piece.
There are undeniably upbeat aspects throughout your album, but they lyrics carry a lot of seriousness. I think that thats going on, for sure. Its not our intention necessarily to make fun, more celebratory music. I dont think the lyrics are in complete opposition to the vibe of the music. Where some people might hear the music as being "fun time, goofy-type grooves, other people, and myself included, probably seem to hear more of an anxious, speedy freak-out type thing.
Many of the songs sound like they could be music from an old movie, as if the songs can create mental images as they play out. Its certainly not conscious as far as an idea that we have to do things. A lot of us come from a visual arts background. Those kinds of things are much more important to us rather than fingers moving or how tight the band is. Images and feelings: a lot of it has to do with a state, like energy, like us playing together and getting into a frenzy and the spontaneous stuff that can kind of happen out of that.
