Another Form of Relief

It was about a year ago that I first heard of Pulled Apart by Horses, a Leeds band that I described at the time as “utterly mental”. I questioned whether or not they had the makings of a great band, but there was certainly potential in their demo songs. A year later, and what has changed? Well, the band have seemingly exploded onto the indie scene, which is nice for them. Their live shows have now become the stuff of legend, with shows that seem to put the chaos of a Dananananaykroyd show to shame.

Are they any closer to being a great band though? Honestly, I’m still not sure about them. The two songs below made up their most recent single, now made available as it’s sold out. I like these songs, I really do. They are loud and fun and I like the energy that comes from them. So why do I still have reservations about them? Perhaps it’s because I find the prospect of listening to an entire album of them a little intimidating. Pulled Apart by Horses offer a nice short sharp shock of rock, but that’s about as far as I can go with them.

Is there such a genre as ‘utterly mental’? If not, there should be, and Pulled Apart by Horses would be the poster kids for it. It took me a few listens to start appreciating their songs, such was their difficulty to begin with. Stop start melodies, vocals that border on the deranged, it just smacks you in the face a little way in and doesn’t let up for the rest of the song. All of which is a pretty impressive feat for a band only a few months old. Are they actually any good though? The potential is certainly here, though it may take a few more demos to really get that across. They certainly have my attention though.