Thursday, 11 June 2015

A Thousand Horses - Southernality, album review



Driving in Twangesville

The Black Crowes was a significant act first appearing in 1989/90 because they did not create a genre but re-presented one that had disappeared [in terms of contemporary performers] into the dark hole that had been – largely – the insipid 80s. This resurrection of rock has more or less been sustained ever since by countless good to great rock bands, one such current great  American one being Rival Sons.

English bands have made their invaluable contribution, like The Answer and The Temperance Movement, the latter just announcing they will be opening for the Rolling Stones in Orlando soon: how is that for demonstrably achieving your homage to the gods of the genre?

This is by way of acknowledging that the sub-genre to all of this which is Southern Rock is inhabited largely by American bands who have that Country gene in their DNA, or at the very least don’t mind the linkage. A Thousand Horses, formed in 2010 in Nashville [there’s geographical/national authenticity for you], occupy that territory firmly on this latest release, and the Country rock is a heavy inclination in both the upbeat numbers as well as ballads, those latter perhaps the more so in residing happily in Twangesville, a large and ever-expanding community where you will have passed through and heard it before but are willing to drive back to and around in, quite content to continue listening.


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