High Horse - CD EP Review (w/ members of The Necronauts and Stereotyperider)

High Horse - Shitty Things by TMI Top 5

There must be something in the water in Mesa, AZ as Billy and Dale Goodman (from The Necronauts) have teamed up with Mike Upsahl of Stereotyperider to release a seven song EP (under the name High Horse) of high-energy garage rock. Formed in early 2010, High Horse had only played one show before they hit the studio last July, recording the seven-song, self-titled EP. This isn't the 'dirty', in-the-gutter side of garage rock but rather the 'get the party started' sound of bands like The Fleshtones.

With the melodic hooks and sing-along choruses of each of the songs, one may not immediately notice how musically 'busy' this disc is. All three members sing (often in multi-part harmonies) while Billy Goodman plays crunchy garage-rock chords and angular rhythms that zig and zag around Mike Upshal's reverb-ladden Fender Rhodes and Dale Goodman's pounding backbeat. High Horse's music doesn't share much in common with The Necronauts' lo-fi, free-form indie-rock (outside of a shared pension for off-kilter song titles) as this twenty-two minute multi-layered EP is razor tight and sounds like the work of a larger band.

The band recently released the first video from the new EP for the song "Shitty Things" which was filmed using an iPhone and a couple of flip cameras.



The EP is available on CD and a vinyl 10-inch but there's no real need to choose a format. As Upsahl explains it, "We just slide the CD in a clear case inside of the 10-inch. The deal we have is if you buy the vinyl, you get the CD for free; and if you buy the CD, you get the vinyl for free. So either way, you're getting both."

Links:
High Horse

The Necronauts - "Gauche et Droite" CD Review (Black Cactus Records)

I’ve never heard of The Necronauts prior to receiving a review copy of the band’s sixth disc, Gauche et Droite. While The Necronauts fall into the “indie rock” genre, this label is somewhat misleading as this sprawling forty track / two-disc release has much more in common with bands like Pavement and Sebadoh than with any of today’s indie-rock bands. This release is a welcome throwback to the days of lo-fi DIY rock where, if a band got lucky, they might be able to break-out of the “get in the van” underground with an appearance on MTV’s 120 Minutes.

The Necronauts were formed in the year 2000 by half-brothers Billy and Dale Goodman of Mesa, Arizona. In their first four years, The Necronauts independently released five albums, including a critically acclaimed self-titled EP in 2004. Recording for Gauche et Driotte began in 2005 and singer/guitarist Billy Goodman said “I intended it to be a double album. I talked a lot of shit and opened my mouth about making this epic album, I had to keep my word. I’ll never make that mistake again.”

The 2CDs show the evolution of the band's songwriting process as Disc One (“Gauche”) contains nineteen tracks of lo-fi slacker rock and Disc Two (“Droite) contains nine early versions of tracks from “Gauche” that are significantly different from the finalized versions along with ten new songs. The song titles are completely unrelated to the lyrical themes, as reoccurring themes seem to be about dysfunctional people, relationships and the silliness of following the implicit rules of a given “scene”. On top of the band’s general skepticism, they seem to have a particularly negative outlook toward organized religion. This somewhat cynical outlook isn’t immediately obvious as it is delivered amidst catchy, sing-along melodies and memorable musical hooks.

The song “Skateboarding Hurts” (video below) is about dysfunctional relationships.



For anyone who “shot up” on The Minutemen and Meat Puppets in the 80’s and Pavement and Sebadoh in the 90’s, this is essential listening.

Gauche et Droite contains a 30-page booklet with lyrics, artwork by Dave 'Luster Kaboom' Quan, and was released by High School Football Records and Black Cactus Records.

Links:
The Necronauts