The Rocking Horse Winner

Item: Horizon
Author: Clara Sayre

Horizon

(2002)

Reviewed by Clara Sayre

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify

Label Equal Vision RecordsDecapolisMay 2002

dream pop indie pop

I don't know why, but I'm always a lot pickier when it comes to female vocalist-fronted groups than I am with male vocalists. So I went into this new release from The Rocking Horse Winner with a bit of a "prove it to me" attitude.

"Horizon" just came out on April 30th and it is their debut album with Equal Vision Records. Based out of Florida, the band has Jolie Lindholm on vocals (You know, the girl who sang on the first two Dashboard Confessional albums...I have to admit, whenever I listened to those two albums, I'd always sing along with her part and pretend that I was fulfilling my dream of singing in a band...I'm sure you all did too...so stop laughing.), Henry Olmino on guitars, piano and backing vocals, Jeronimo Gomez on bass and Matt Crum on drums/percussion, piano, vibes, bells and hand claps.

Okay, onto the album.

My first thoughts upon hearing the album: catchy, poppy, beautiful clear voice that I wish I had, pristine recording quality, good driving music for a road trip. I surprise myself sometimes...here I was already getting pulled in by the music and I hadn't even finished listening to it. The first song, Orange Blossom, is a good starter for the cd. Jolie wastes no time in proving she's got an amazing voice and an equally amazing range that forces me to quit singing along early on. The musical accompaniment is a good driving force along with her voice that pushes the song to the front where it belongs.

Following Orange Blossom is Error, with its laidback jazzy feel and yet another memorable melody that you'll undoubtedly be humming after you turn your cd player off. It's a good contrast to the first song and proves that this band can write songs that still stay within their genre but don't sound exactly alike.

Then you get to a song like When Songbirds Sing and my previous point is proven again. This is a gentle, beautiful song that combines harmonies and a slow melody that erupts into a rocking chorus. I haven't been able to make out enough lyrics to know what this song is all about, but the music and voices make up for that. I'll just have to search around the internet later.

This is definitely a summer album and their writing reflects it. There are songs on here that are more memorable than others (ie. More memorable: Orange Blossom, Error, Tomorrow, and ironically enough for a summer album Christmas Day. Not as memorable: Horizon, Curable, and Novelty). I think overall this is a well-balanced album with enough diversity in it to keep you from getting bored but enough continuity to realize it's the same band throughout. I was pleasantly surprised as I kept listening, it definitely grows on you. I can see it potentially being a little too catchy after listening to it non-stop (sometimes there's only so much wide-eyed-optimistic-summer-driving-road-trip music I can listen to and then I go scrambling for something dark to balance it all out). But that's not to say it isn't good. I can honestly say I'm glad I have a copy of it now and it'll be kept with other such EVR favorites as The Liars Academy and Coheed and Cambria on our cd rack.

The Rocking Horse Winner is currently on tour to promote this album along with Brandtson. Check out their website http://www.therockinghorsewinner.com (or Brandtson's website: http://www.brandtson.com) for their complete tour information. I am going to see them on May 14th at the Cleveland show. This will be the first time I'll see them in concert and I will also be conducting an interview with Jolie and whoever else wants to join in. So be on the lookout for that if you want to know more about them.

B+/A range