AN HORSE – WALLS

Tidy, compressed and full of beans, An Horse are definitely in the driver’s seat with this second album. “In the driver’s seat”? Seems purposefully vague, but so does the music. While the production, performances and writing are all hard to fault, there’s nothing for the imagination to really latch on to in Walls. All the tracks are basically as good as each other, but Know This, We’ve Noticed stands out as one of the more interesting, as the use of space and swing feel are a pleasant break from the pounding four on the floor vigour of Dressed Sharply and Airport Death. The title track Walls is another stripped back moment of calmness; singer/guitarist Katie Cooper favours the acoustic approach to that indie emo drive and we get a closer a look at probably the most memorable thing about these guys, which is Cooper’s bizarre singing accent: imagine The Nanny’s Fran Drescher singing “what’s it all for, ‘cause I don’t know if I know anymore” in a thick New York drone, but without the signature cackle. Curious. Together with Canadian indie legend, producer Howard Redekopp, An Horse have made a fine album of refined indie pop in Walls that would be difficult to pick out of a line-up. But maybe that just comes with the territory…

**1/2