Horsebath – “Another Farewell”
You’re walking on a pleasant, rain-soaked sidewalk, and – entirely by chance – the crowd commotion of a warmly-lit venue beckons you in. You have discovered something that the rest of the world has not yet. Here, where you stand, has suddenly become the greatest dive bar in the world, because the next big thing is playing live on stage.
“Hard to Love” – the opening track on Horsebath’s highly-anticipated debut album Another Farewell – will put you in that lucky bar-goer’s shoes. It’s an old-school stomp-and-holler ballad, destined for a packed crowd that will shout the words back at the stage – even if hearing them for the first time. It starts Another Farewell off hot, with a rowdy cadence, Black Keys-esque vocals, a hybrid Skynyrd and Stones influence, and high-flying ragtime piano that would force Scott Joplin to finally smile in a picture.
Immediately following is “In The Shade” – a mystical tune that will teleport you out of the bar and into a world tinged in a Pink Floyd mist, with synth keys, light bending, old friends, lonely nights, longing, and leaving. You get lost in it; the enveloping dark fog might convince you it was recorded with the lights off. It’s not just a song, but a poignant 6-minute composition.
And after that? “Only In My Dreams” pulls off the impossible (and makes it sound good), combining what could be a Shakey Graves intro riff, a Beatles-era melody, and some neo-Western Tex-Mex licks you would hear on a Calexico album.
Horsebath writes their own songs, the band-members switch off playing different instruments, and they even gorgeously roulette the lead vocals. Different singers still manage to maintain the band’s distinct voice. We haven’t seen anyone do that since the Eagles.
Horsebath is honoring the past, creating the future, and restoring faith in good music. There are still bands to give a damn about, and Horsebath is one of them. Considering this is only their debut, you will want to be along for the remarkable career these young guys are about to embark on. Check out Another Farewell on February 7th!
P.S. If you’re shooting a movie that features the outlaws speeding windows-down through a wild Colorado mountainscape, you’ll want “Long & Lonesome” on the soundtrack.
Find more information on the band’s website here: https://www.horsebath.ca/home, and also on New West records’ site or BandCamp.
Musicians on the album are Keast Mutter, Daniel Connolly, Dagen Mutter, Etienne Beausoleil, and Niall Mutter, with Matt Myer and Jeremy Ramos-Foley.
Another Farewell was produced by HORSEBATH and Niall Mutter; recorded by Gilles Castilloux at The Treatment Room in Montreal, Quebec; mixed by Niall Mutter and mastered by Rufus van Baardwijk at Hidden Gem Studio in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
