Rider/Horse

Reviews

Rider/Horse Matted LP

Bluesy post-punk that melds gritty, locked-in rhythms with swamp water to create a grimy gem. Slide guitars feature on most songs, sometimes as a graceful chirp like on opener “Combing the Horse,” and other times as a haunted spectral warning, like on “Fouled Walls.” Churning underneath the slide is a tight bass/drums groove and a boiling no wave guitar squall that foments a distinctive unease. Corey Plump’s (of SPRAY PAINT) spoken/sung vocals deliver fractured tributes to frustration, pairing perfectly with the band’s sound. Standout track “Bored by the Infinite” features a raw, detuned three-note guitar figure that leads into a group chant vocal. It sounds like wandering into some kind of backwoods secret initiation rite, both spooky and intriguing. Check it out if you like the DRIN or live in a gloomy cabin in the woods where the owls tell you secrets.

Rider/Horse Select Trials LP

I don’t know what blend of psychedelics and speed these Ever/Never people are taking, but the last record I reviewed from them, CURED PINK’s Current Climate, was in a similar vein of experimentation. Here, on RIDER/HORSE’s debut, you hear a noise-heavy drum machine wasteland, filled with repetitive, jabby guitar riffs that yield to ambient synth breaks and dramatic, spoken lyrics. While the pandemic gave them a break from other projects, such as SPRAY PAINT, this duo was able to give this electric-drama their all, and it shows in the production. Personally, I’m sort of over this Vin Diesel-club-scene-music, but maybe you’re ready to get after it.