Me And My Two Horses – Heartbeats Horror Horses
Me And My Two Horses – Heartbeats Horror Horses – EP Review
Personally, I’ve found a lot to listen to on the new Heartbeats Horror Horses EP from My And My Two Horses, a solo-artist all the way from Germany. You already know I’m intensely interested in music that has its roots in soil far, far away from wherever I am – it’s always incredibly cool to get a glimpse of what life might be like in a different place through the perspective that music offers. So here we are now…in Germany with Me And My Two Horses…and as if the experience of music from far-away wasn’t going to be enough, this solo-project connected to me even more through a stunningly confident female-lead. Ever since Kurt Cobain pointed the punks in my generation towards incredibly strong & confident female-led bands like Belly, The Breeders, L7 and a hundred more…I’ve been hooked. I might very well have been hooked without his advice…that’s all in the past for me now so it’d be tough to tell for sure.
What I can tell you…is that true art and the pursuit OF it…can take you to some extraordinary places – just like I think it has here with the new EP from Me And My Two Horses. I have had several spins through the record…I won’t lie to you – it took some adjusting to at first. To be completely truthful with you all…I wasn’t quite sure I’d ever end up ‘getting’ what was happening in the opening/title-track. “Heartbeats Horror Horses” starts this EP off in such a strange and bizarre manor…one your ears won’t expect at first…
…and it’s with saying that…that I can also personally vouch for just how quickly this record grows on you. There are truly extraordinary things happening…and I got that familiar chill down my spine that has always been an indication of listening to something completely exciting and truly new. When you look at the pictures, artwork, song-titles…moods and atmosphere…a lot of this EP is undeniably set firmly in the dark – and it heads there quickly with the dramatic opening tune. It’s kind of like a version of Florence + The Machine in the tone of her voice and inflections in her singing…but you’d full-on expect to find this version of her in a straight-jacket. There’s a madness here…but one that appreciates the unexplored wonders of music…and I in turn, appreciate that.
All this being said, the title-track may have gone on to be fourth on my list out of the four tracks available on this new record from Me And My Two Horses. It’s an interesting song…I like the background elements and I love the vocals…I think the swirling and all-encompassing madness of the end is completely genius – but…the piano-line, which is purposely off-kilter and awkward never really gets any easier to listen to. I think it’s the toughest-sell to the people out there that might listen of any of the four you’ll find on the EP…so it’s a bit of a gamble to have “Heartbeats Horror Horses” as the first song we hear. When you go back to it…it kind of has a similarity to Fiona Apple or Lana Del Ray at points…it has that mystery and that enchanting, murky depth to the emotion in her voice.
“My Heart’s A Gun” takes the EP into even further darkness with some really understated brilliance here on this second tune. Like I had mentioned…I wasn’t completely sure what I was hearing or what I was in for originally with I heard the first song – but once “My Heart’s A Gun” started up, I had little to no doubt at all – this whole project is made of pure innovation, experimentation, courage…and resulting genius. The atmosphere of “My Heart’s A Gun” is so impressively heavy and bold…simple but incredibly effective…right down to the very heartbeat sounds you’ll hear in the background behind the piano. There’s a performer here for sure…a born entertainer…you can hear it in the passion in the music.
What put my jaw on the floor though…was “The Mermaid & The Sailor.” I think I might remember hearing something as beautiful as the music in this song ONCE in my life before – maybe? Even that’s a tough call…this might just be one of, if not some of THE most beautiful music I’ve heard to my own ears. I love songs like this…I suppose it’d be considered folk at the end of the day…indie-folk-pop…I don’t know…I just know sparkling, stunning, captivating and seriously beautiful music when I hear it – and this is it. I appreciate the vocals…at points I think they fit perfectly, others I think there would potentially be more suitable tones…but there’s no chance I’d ever throw a song like that away – “The Mermaid & The Sailor” is a completely breathtaking & spine-tingling moment on the EP that has unforgettable impact. On the right day…at the right time…in the right mood and mindset – this song could easily bring out tears from me.
By the time that “Alone (E.A. Poe)” comes on, your ears are plenty acclimated to the sound of the vocals and the style of the music. It’s a truly poetic and artistic combination here on this record that warrants attention – I think there’s a potential magic here in the music of Me And My Two Horses that could go on to very well stun the entire world one day. I ended up really liking the looseness in the music…it kind of gave it all a dark-jazzy feel to it, especially the final song “Alone (E.A. Poe).” I also grew to both accept and love the sound of the vocals much the same as I have for innovative but somewhat dissonant singers like you know and love in bands like Florence + The Machine or the Cold War Kids. And again, especially this final tune…the forlorn and melancholy writing and atmosphere that hangs on each and every note of this last song are another real highlight on this EP.
I think there is a wealth of untapped creativity here in the mind behind Me And My Two Horses…and I think she’s definitely gained a fan with me here today. This kind of artistic combination, style and sound is right up my alley – I thought this was stunning.
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