Review Summary: Horse Of The Dog is 25 minutes of pure quality and originality. It sounds like nothing you've ever heard before.
I still remember my first exposure to this band – I was idly listening to a music channel on TV (Kerrang, probably,) without any attention to what was happening outside of my mind, and on came ‘Psychosis Safari’. I was hooked, straight from the very first chorus. It was perfect; The crescendo as the drums built up, the captivating bass-line etching its way across from the TV straight towards my attention, everything about it. I was probably lucky that this was my first song of theirs as it just so happens to be the best song they have ever made; it’s a messy grunge oriented garage rock song with all the power in the world, as it subsequently kicks your arse and allows you to have a sing-along at the same time. This single says a lot for the album itself, it is a fantastic introduction to the band as it shows off their over the top style that they went on to perfect. Upon release, the world wasn’t quite listening, but for those who were they knew they were witnessing something special.
The album sits at 25 minutes with only one of the 10 songs spanning over the 3 minute length. This speedy airtime is perfect, as it allows you to get a taster of the industrialized punky mess of an album. It’s is a no holds barred match in aggression and strange fun. The sound is hard to explain, it refuses to completely give into the garage rock revival mainstream sound that was so prevalent in the UK in 2002. Instead they tease it throughout. For the most part they stick with their Psychobilly roots, only to add a cluster of random elements that shouldn’t work but really do (for example, the screamed vocals contrasted with the funky rhythm on the song ‘Chicken’). There’s no reason this album should sounds as good as it does, but it has a special level of originality in its sound that you’ve never heard before – At no point are you able to pinpoint what makes every song so brilliant, and when you think you might’ve figured it out you’re only forced back to the unknown as the next song comes punching through.
Due to the shortness of the album, you’re left yearning for more. The songs hardly stick, as stated before which makes the album heavily re-listenable. This is both the albums strong point and the factor holding it back from its true potential. You are hardly able to get a proper grasp of the brilliance of it all, and it feels like more of a preview of what could’ve been their classic. That’s not to say this isn’t a classic in its own right. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster did on one album, what some bands fail to do throughout their whole career; they’ve created a pinnacle of their genre.
It’s a shame that this album wasn’t particularly big at the time of release, it really could have started something special and if it was released at another time, who knows how big this could have been? As far as I’m concerned this could’ve been the next Surfer Rosa in inspiration, and that’s not hyperbole. For now though, this is a gem of an album that requires only one listen to see its desired effect, maybe give it a listen.
