Last year I stumbled across the stunning debut album from Pittsburgh DIY noise makers Feeble Little Horse. Hayday was an instant hit with its slacker sensibilities and killer songs. The band have just dropped their second full length album and I couldn’t wait to get it on the turntable. Now it’s time to get some words on to the page and that excitement level is even higher.
The band consisting of drummer Jake Kelley, bassist/vocalist Lydia Slocum, and guitarists Seb Kinsler and Ryan Walchonski refuse to be pigeon holed. Their sound has touch points in many genres but never lingers in one too long. Theres’s elements of shoegaze and college rock and then there’s also folk and psychedelia sprinkled liberally throughout.
The album explodes onto the speakers with ‘Freak’. Slocum’s laid-back vocal playing over the sludgiest guitars ever and it’s the perfect pairing. The song has a sweeping dynamic weaving in and out. Great start to the album.
The lead single ‘Tin Man’ follows with its psychedelic English folk intro. The song punches things up with a scuzzy and carefree chorus. This makes it all the more impactful when we return to that folky, acoustic verse part. This is nuanced writing and is light years on from the songs on Hayday.
The segues neatly into ‘Steamroller’ a subdued number that, again, shows how far this band have come. The wall of feedback in the intro gives way to a measured vocal delivery from Slocum. She gets into lock step with Kelley’s drums giving this song a more defined sound than anything I’ve heard them play yet.
That laid back sound continues on ‘Heaven’. I love the chime of the guitars on this one. Almost like a lullaby, it beguiles you however there’s an unmistakable sadness behind it all. It’s intangible and always just out reach but its there alright.
‘Paces’ is my album standout track. It comes racing in all demented like a child singing a Spirit of the Beehive song. That guitar riff makes me smile ear to ear. It’s utterly sublime. They make use of that switch up in pace (see what they did there) and its so effective. It makes sure your ear is never bored and always delighted.
‘Sweet’ plays out like you’re listening to two conversations at once. It has the effect to draw you in and really pay attention to what’s going on. This odd duet is yet another example of the band making good use of dynamics, switching up what’s happening to thrill the listener. Oh, and it works.
‘Slide’ returns to that psychedelic folk sound however this time its coupled with some nice electronica touches which makes me think of Grandaddy in places. Ultimately though it’s the give and take between Slocum’s beautiful vocal and that glorious acoustic guitar riff that elevates this track.
‘Healing’ is a jittery, glitch driven intermission. Barely a minute and a half long yet the band still manage to create a small universe in this song. The song seems to ruminate on the marks left by healing, be they physical or otherwise. No mean feat.
We pick the pace back up again with ‘Pocket’. A mesmerising, heady track that blends a poppy chanted chorus with verses that defy definition. Multiple vocal lines criss cross each other seemingly at odds with each other but ultimately resolve into the mantra “Do you wanna be in my pocket”. Then the song just stops and erupts into this fuzzed out screamed section. Man, this band really want to keep you on your toes.
‘Station’ has a clear sixties influence in its melody. This could be a lost Brian Wilson track from the SMiLe sessions. The vocal delivery is absolutely stunning but it’s the multi layered track that draws you in, from the picked out acoustic, to the strange warbles that come in and out. This song is just joy in musical form.
The album closes out with ‘Heavy Water’. A sombre track for the most part it explodes for a moment near the end in an exultant fervour before quietly folding back in on itself.
Girl With Fish is an album that leaves you with more questions than answers. Nothing is handed to you on a silver platter and, most of all, you never know what’s about to happen next. That for me, is what makes this such an important album. This is an album you will come back to again and again and still be surprised each time at what the band have achieved. Let’s also not forget, this is only their second album. I cannot wait to hear where this band goes next.
Girl With Fish is available now on Saddle Creek Records via Bandcamp and all good record stores.
You can follow Feeble Little Horse on social media here…
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