Pulled Apart By Horses: Pulled Apart By Horses
Pulled Apart By Horses: Pulled Apart By Horses
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Friday, 25, Jun 2010 02:06
Incessant shrieking and heavy riffs give Chris Jefferies an almighty headache.
Transgressive Records, out June 21st.
What's it all about?
Half an hour of unadulterated noise; every bit as violent as the name sounds, with unashamedly gurning riffs thrown in for flavour. Pulled Apart By Horses have been touring incessantly for two years and this record is their first attempt to capture the lunacy of their manic live shows.
Who's it by?
PBAH are four very energeticc gents from Leeds who don't so much play their instruments as assault them. This goes doubly so for lead vocalist Tom Hudson who is shrieking his way to a throat transplant.
As an example.
"We're not here for the weekend / We're just here for the night / We're just dying to meet you / So come along for the ride" - Get Off My Ghost Train
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Despite the sheer ugliness of the vocals, the band seem to be gaining real critical acclaim and are firm contenders for best live band at the NME Awards.
What the others say
"It should be a mess, but it succeeds through sheer confidence in its own stupidity." - NME
"As good as Pulled Apart By Horses is (and make no mistake, this is a fine album of ferociously potent gut-rock) it begs one question very loudly: where are the new songs?" - Rock Sound
So is it any good?
PABH's influences are plain to see and impressively replicated. Think old school At The Drive-In and QOTSA mixed with Death From Above 1979's bass lines. The challenging brutality of Hudson's vocals is balanced by an undoubted ear for mind-twisting riffs. This is an album that revels in its own absurdity, with songs about breaking into a Ghost Train at night (Get Off My Ghost Train), playing Legend of Zelda video games (The Crapsons) and watching Conan the Barbarian (I Punched A Lion In The Throat).
Where it hits, it's rather impressive and in snatches this album could be considered brilliant. On several occasions, however, the band get thoroughly carried away by their macho hard-rock posings, as exemplified by the over-indulgent final track Den Horn - six minute metal riffs may work live, but drag on to tedium when laid down on vinyl. Another criticism that can be levelled at this debut is that four of the tracks are reheated pre-album releases, and on an 11-track album that accounts for a sizeable portion.
If PBAH aren't consumed by the whirlwind storm of energy and insanity that they have created, they could yet mature into a hardcore rock outfit to be reckoned with. They certainly have the talent to do so, but they will need to exercise more restraint in future.
7/10