Review Summary: A justified monument
The members of power trio
We Are Space Horses from Somerville, Massachusetts are devotees to the range of sounds and spinoffs in psychedelic and progressive rock. Their debut album
Apologia's tasteful takes on groovy heavy psych riffs and classic rock guitar leads often find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder with dreary slowcore, vast post-rock, crunchy metallic power chords, and dynamic progressive rock buildups. The result is greater than the sum of its parts as catchy riffs, engaging songwriting, emotional performances, and a tight tracklist make this a record that easily dodges mere imitation and instead feels like a rare, noteworthy collection of new rock songs that deserve to be heard.
Closing and beginning with the grainy sputtering of what may be an old tape rewinding, the evocation of the retro is evident in the first track 'To Let Go...Absolutely' - Stairway to Heaven-esque bridges and solos are a centerpiece on this song. Acoustic cowboy chords, twangy vintage guitar leads, and warm piano recall rosy flashbacks of listening to Boomer Rock on my dad's stereo. With thumping ritual-like eighth notes introducing verses like a march forward into time, a distant, reverb- and echo-soaked voice professes that it's ‘Time to change...' and that he's been '...waiting for so long'. Repetitions of this 'so long' guide into the deep, dark forest of "Absolutely Haunted", an experimental whirlwind of droning voices, echoing '...so long...'-s and '...waiting...'-s from the prior track, swelling synths, and an accelerating tom drum riff that signals the heavier, darker, and more outlandish remainder of
Apologia.
"Haunt" starts seamlessly with the toms, this time accompanied only by bass, and soon after by a sweet and soft-spoken old-school guitar solo, twisting-and-turning between hard-rocking verses, metallic tritones that echo Tony Iommi, and delay-soaked hits of guitar chords that feel like an acute fright or a sudden rush to the head. Note needs to be made of the bass guitar on this album - the heavy, buzzing tones and vibe
We Are Space Horses' bassist brings to each track lends a voice and glue to this album that is worth the price of admission on its own.
The bass chops shine on "Stale Skies" - driving the track as it descends like an apparition in the intro, dances around the neck during the bridge, crackling with fuzz into the final phrase of the song - an exciting left-turn into righteous and steadfast 6/8 stoner rock riffs and gritty roars from a crescendo-ing reverb-y
Radiohead-like 3/4 bridge led with Yorke-ish howls and falsetto. Repeated passages of 'again and again and again and...' return one more time to hammer home frustration against what feels like a mundane or terrible circumstance.
Lead single "God is a Ghost" casts a shadow when it arrives with staccato guitar hits that tip toe in the quiet home built by the rhythm section and the spacious lead vocals. Another cool and loose guitar solo shows itself off before being alarmingly superseded by a thumping, goosebump-inducing fuzzy bass riff surrounded by ambient guitars that eventually help to reduce the tension built up. Doomy power chords explode into the choruses, where lines like 'The wheels fell off so many miles ago...' and 'The chain was broken on that terrible day...' send more chills down the spine. Overall, the album's production leans towards the darker side but tracks like this are perfect for such a sound.
The epic closer "Justification to Build a Monument" begins desolately with cold bass chords, met by slowcore drums and an e-bow guitar that is reminiscent of early
Sigur Ros, a comparison that becomes more apt when waves of orchestra strings weep with the band halfway through the track. The lead singer lays what may be a metatext for the album's themes, that he's writing 'An open letter, to no one / where I can lay out all my fears'. Fear of dying alone or clinging to a 'life out-of-control' replaces this empty sonic space with a dense gloom.
Addiction, religion, and trauma lie at the heart of this album through vocals that can be difficult to make out at times, but never lose their soul. The drumming brings a refreshing variety of grooves that pilot each song through its phase shifts. The guitar playing and tones are a fun throwback to the 60s and 70s and bring plenty of vibe without sounding trite. And my god, that bass.
We Are Space Horses describe
Apologia as 'the perfect psych album for the cold winter months'. It certainly lives up to that through the heavy lyrical themes and the atmosphere the band creates sonically, pairing well with the days when it’s dark at 5:00pm.
