Hold Your Horse Is - Frimley

It always seems like Hold Your Horse Is go out of their way to come across as more straightforward than they are; those inducted through choppy early singles ‘Forgive & Forget’ and ‘You Show Up’ could certainly be forgiven for thinking so. Though it’s hardly like they’ve staked a flag in the ground as a prog band or anything, Hold Your Horse Is have gradually made it clear that there’s so much more just beneath the surface – from great lyrics and an album titled ‘Frimley’, to the double input jacks visible on guitars played live, they’ve nailed something special on this debut.

As such, though they may wear their immediate influences on their sleeve – Hundred Reasons, Reuben et al – their sound is at once slick and raw, streamlined and blunt. Moreover, like Vex Red and Hundred Reasons they also have the gift of pulling a great mainstream alt rock chorus out of the bag, with ‘Everything’s So Mundane’ and ‘The Exit’ the best evidence of this. While it’s not strictly true that rock music is in a total rut right now, it is true that Hold Your Horse Is lead the pack in raw alt rock with clout and brains. “Well it’s a trial to really connect” they say on ‘Title Track’ – give them a hand and tune in, yeah?