feeble little horse - Girl with Fish Review
Feeble Little Horse’s new album is a poignant, earnest and incredibly infectious collection of perfected songs that beg to be listened on repeat.
Feeble Little Horse’s sophomore album begins with lofi guitars rising into a crushing and all-encompassing swell of controlled chaos. The calamity subsides, allowing bassist and lead-vocalist Lydia Slocum to sing in their signature relaxed mumble above the distorted frenzy. ‘Girl with Fish’ is the explosive follow up to the bands critically acclaimed debut album ‘Hayday’.
The Pennsylvania guitar scene has slowly garnered greater attention with bands like ‘They are Gutting a Body of Water’ and ‘A Country Western’ seeing international attention on their latest releases. Feeble Little Horse seem to optimise this unique kitsch genre with powerful guitars, crunching basslines, slammed drums and off hand, soft vocals all mixed together into a whirlwind of 90s nostalgia. Calling back to indie bands like Pavement, Dinosaur Jr and The Breeders, Feeble Little Horse achieve a beautiful balance of harsh distortion and gentle vocals.
‘Girl with Fish’ is a powerful labour of love; self-produced and self-recorded, the arrangement occupied the band's time for the past two years. Guitar and vocal takes were swapped and altered countless times over the course of recording but what emerges from the depths of this perfectionism is a startlingly unique display of emotional resonance. Elements of bedroom production are embraced and combined with intimate lyrics to create an earnest implosion of personal expression. Tracks like 'Steamroller' deftly combine imagery of sexual experiences and bakery whilst 'Pocket' graphically describes the difficulty moving on from a partner who has passed away.
At the start of writing members of the group were scattered in different parts of the US; trading voice memos, lyrics and ideas remotely proved to be a fruitful endeavour as the band took their time carefully crafting the eleven tracks that make up ‘Girl with Fish’. Some songs, like ‘Steamroller’ took form through jam sessions, whilst others began as solo material brought to the group. Despite the variation in songwriting process, the album unfolds as a cohesive whole. Erratic production compliments this diversity of songs constantly keeping the listener on their toes. Tracks like 'Sweet' suddenly jump genres as elements of drum and bass swing into the second verse. Warbling, pitch shifted sounds permeate the album be it the unnatural melody in 'Paces', shifting voices in 'Heaven' or the glitching acoustic in ‘Healing’. The final track, 'Heavy Water', concludes with a peak into this bedroom production. A guide click softly fades away as the album draws to a dramatic close.
Vulnerability and power are presented in equal force throughout ‘Girl with Fish’. Feeble Little Horse’s new album is a poignant, earnest and incredibly infectious collection of perfected songs that beg to be listened on repeat.