With a penchant for the anthemic and doused in glistening psych/folk induced melodies, Horse Thief embody the potentials to become everyone’s new favourite band. The Texan five-piece’s EP release last year, Grow Deep, Grow Wild, expressed the ability to compose music laced with elements of funk, psychedelic and folk, all accompanied by the tender yet confident vocals of frontman Cameron Neal. The band’s time at Oklahoma Academy of Contemporary Music is reflected in the tight, constructive musicianship on the EP and, despite relatively lukewarm reviews, it flashed green in terms of hope for the full-length. Jump forward and here we have Fear In Bliss, a work which adds clarity and a noted progression in the band’s sound. The niceties are exhibited hand in hand with notions of melancholy and struggle, the melodies sit sweetly either side of the anthems and despite occasional misfires in emotional projection, Fear In Bliss is, for the most part, a satisfying success.
Having released the album via Bella Union, the label home of Fleet Foxes and The Flaming Lips, and recorded it in LA with Thom Monahan, of Vetiver and Pernice Brothers fame, the musical direction of Fear In Bliss comes as no surprise. With influences ranging from Neil Young to more modern contemporaries in the vein of Deer Tick, Horse Thief wear such inspirations on their sleeves, allowing for an easy sense of reference and comparisons. However, Horse Thief are able to not just draw on the sound of such artists, but to build upon them. At times the jangly Smiths-esque guitars are called into play, as on “Human Geographer,” to add a dynamic sense of movement to the track, and merge it into their own style. One of the album’s highlights, “Little Dust,” could have been an early King of Leon track, had the Followill’s been a little less emphatic on the gain. Neal’s raspy vocals provide an authoritative whisky-and-cigarettes tone to the song, coughing up images of sand and tumbleweed to accompany the beaming guitar lines. However, it is the amalgamation of all of these influences which is successfully constructed and emerges as their own, and despite the easy comparisons to other such artists, Fear In Bliss doesn’t feel regurgitated. It has its own sense of life, and revels in its ultimate independence.
In an interview with A Music Blog, Yeah?, Neal noted how the lyrics, music and title of the Fear In Bliss are linked to struggles with anxiety and depression, a notion which is persistent throughout and acts as a thematic cornerstone. However, Fear In Bliss is not an album based on a sense of foreboding or unrelenting negativity; a belief in coping and acceptance is exhibited at times which makes for the album existing closer as a reflection to therapy than self-indulgence. On the first proper track “I Don’t Mind,” Neal coos ‘we will not last forever/but I don’t mind’ which, despite its underwhelming delivery, offers a sense of condolence, the notion being administered that our finite existence is not to be associated with negativity. The closing of “Devil,” ‘but I still sleep at night,’ delivered this time far more successfully, again is used by Neal to highlight how, despite the balancing act of the previous line ‘it’s getting better every day now/but we all are gonna die some time,’ there is a coping mechanism within us all which allows us to deal with events in life. The glimmering melodies work throughout to lift the mood to one of positivity, with the only track void of any real notion other than melancholy, “Already Dead,” being played on a single acoustic guitar and existing as a far more stripped back affair. As the name suggests, Fear In Bliss has its fair share of moments of downbeat reflection, but they are engaged in a marriage with notions of acceptance and coping, balancing the two, for the most part, in a wonderfully fruitful and perfectly calculated relationship.
Ultimately, however, what will draw the crowds to Horse Thief will be, as I mentioned in the very first line of this review, their ‘penchant for the anthemic. Their ability to craft memorable choruses and hooks and espouse a sense of passion to match stands out as a crucial component of their sound, and when articulated properly, is hugely effective. My favourite track on the album, “Come On,” rings true with stunning guitar leads as Neal gives his all to his catchiest and most enduring lines so far. “Little Dust,” “Devil,” “Already Dead;” they all wear their sing-along styles on their sleeves and merge them with elements of psychedelic and folk. However, this is also the area where, on occasion, Horse Thief overdoes the theatrics and the result is a more forced affair. On a few of these tracks its as if Horse Thief have conceived the end of a song before they began writing it, and hence are forcing a track to be something it isn’t. They need to be able to throw off the shackles, and allow the music to breathe more freely. The production of the sound throughout is similarly impeccable, but at times feels too smooth. The unbridled passion on show is at times subdued, and it is this overdoing of the construction of the music, which at times lets the record down.
It’s difficult not to listen to Fear In Bliss and not become at least somewhat obsessed with the truly beautiful melodies and embedded choruses on show, with the ingredients to both grab on first listen while offering a deeper, more provoking trove to delve into at a later date. Alongside the much larger accompaniments on offer, moments such as the skittering psych/folk-tinged guitars found towards the end of “Human Geographer” highlight and reflect Horse Thief’s ability to install moments of musical serenity, a skill which speaks just as loud as anything else found here. The band truly has much to offer, and indeed much of it is offered in a wonderful fashion. All that’s needed is a greater sense of freedom in their style and delivery, for the remaining constraints to be discarded, and to allow themselves to truly take off at a full gallop, embracing the full potential which they undoubtedly have to offer on future records.
Rating; 3.5/5