Awesomely named, and with an awesome background (drummer Chris Rouse used to tech for post-hardcore legends Reuben), Hold Your Horse Is have finally managed to get a full-length album out. Named after the hometown of two-thirds of their membership, 'Frimley' captures their trademark combination of noise rock and sheeny Foo-Fighters esque superhero anthems better than anything they have done to date.
More than anything else 'Frimley' is fun. It has buckets of energy, and is an admirable achievement, especially considering their stop-start career to date. It’s a shame that a band that is this likeable doesn’t already get more attention but, with a bit more luck, tracks like the absurdly good 'Absurd' and the rollocking 'Everything’s So Mundane' will win the band a few more fans. It’s hard not to imagine fans of bands like the aforementioned Reuben, yourcodenameis:milo and Biffy Clyro not enjoying the cavernous riffs and James Penny’s powerful, rumbling basslines on display here.
Perhaps the highlight is closer 'Tongues'. As close to epic territory as this record comes, frontman Robert Pearson puts in his best vocal performance of the album while Penny and Rouse conjure up huge raves of rhythm behind him. It’s the sort of track that reaffirms your faith in the UK’s underground rock scene, and you cannot praise them much more highly than that.
Of course this isn’t a perfect album. Previous single 'Forgive & Forget' still feels a little below par, whilst 'Title Track' and 'The Exit', placed sequentially on the track listing, feel slightly underwhelming between the massive widescreen ambition of 'You’re Dreaming' and 'Like Crisps under Bison'. For the most part, however, this is hit after hit. Hold Your Horse Is may not do anything that hasn’t been done before but they do it well and, more importantly, they do it with their own distinctive charm and, let’s be honest, nowadays that seems pretty rare.
'Frimley' is out on Monday 6th August. Visit the band’s website www.hyhi.co.uk for more information.
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More than anything else 'Frimley' is fun. It has buckets of energy, and is an admirable achievement, especially considering their stop-start career to date. It’s a shame that a band that is this likeable doesn’t already get more attention but, with a bit more luck, tracks like the absurdly good 'Absurd' and the rollocking 'Everything’s So Mundane' will win the band a few more fans. It’s hard not to imagine fans of bands like the aforementioned Reuben, yourcodenameis:milo and Biffy Clyro not enjoying the cavernous riffs and James Penny’s powerful, rumbling basslines on display here.
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