Almost ten years ago, Leeds four-piece Pulled Apart By Horses arrived with a noise that hasn’t been embodied since. With the same physical aggression as the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and Refused, along with the creativity and outright weirdness similar to Rolo Tomassi and Faith No More, they stood out of the pack from day one. When almost every other band in England tried to sound like You Me at Six, Pulled Apart By Horses couldn’t be more unique.
Their schizophrenic take on alt-rock has seen them play on some of the country’s biggest stages. However, as they matured so did their music. Third album ‘Blood’ was less frantic and more structured, which seemed to split their fans. Having drifted away arguably too far from what made them so unique in the first place it’s up to new album ‘The Haze’ to put things right one way or another.
There are still plenty of traits of the band’s early work. At times, their bat-shit mental side comes out like on ‘Prince of Meat’ with a riff and stunning lead guitar work from James Brown that packs more groove than they’ve ever had before. Also, what’s best is that their unconventional and hilariously witty lyrics are still present throughout the record.
‘The Big What If’ is the highlight of the album, as it gives you the biggest glimpse of their potential. Vocally, singer Tom Hudson still remains the same, he sounds scruffy and rough around the edges but so aggressive he’s lucky he doesn’t get a nosebleed every time he relentlessly screams down the microphone. There’s less weird breakdowns than we’re used to but musically speaking, their song-structure is much more refined like on ‘Flash Lads’ where you can see how the band have learned to gel together.
‘The Haze’ shows just far they’ve come on as musicians in the last ten years, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily going in the right direction. This new sense of maturity they have doesn’t always work out well for them on the album. Their movement towards a more indie friendly sound at times leaves you waiting for a payoff on various tracks that never comes. ‘Lamping’ is pure middle of the road rock with a weak chorus, which could be mistaken for a Pixies B-side that was left for scrap.
Pulled Apart by Horses arrived in a blaze of glory with their inventive style, but as they’ve improved as musicians, they’ve managed that style and turned their blaze into a well controlled flame. They still write catchy and individual post-rock that will go on unrivalled, but it’s nowhere near what they’ve been capable of in the past and what they could still produce in the future.
LOUIS KERRY