By its very nature, psychedelic rock was always meant to be adventurous and exploratory. It was initially meant to be full of bright colours and to have a perpetually beatific disposition, but humanity’s tendency to be awful soon put paid to that. Purveyors of psych with melancholy at its core, We Are Space Horses also make music that can be incredibly uplifting and euphoric, but always with a palpable chill in the air.
“It’s psych rock that has more dark winter vibes than sunny summer vibes,” says vocalist and guitarist Kevin Vanderhoof. “It’s more moody and cathartic than the poppy stuff you’d think of from the 60s! We’ve also said in the past that we sound like if Tool influenced Pink Floyd rather than the other way around. We have a lot of vintage character, but we’re not a full ‘70s prog/psych pastiche.”
In truth, We Are Space Horses are as ingeniously progressive as they are ankle deep in acid. //Apologia// is an album of noisily downbeat songs adorned with all manner of trippy embellishments, from spiralling Moogs and wheezing Mellotrons, to twangy, surf rock guitars and airy, shoegaze-adjacent ambient reveries. All of it speaks of a power trio with sizzling chemistry and imaginations set to startle.
“We feel like our chemistry really came together as a musical unit once Eric joined the band,” explains bassist/vocalist Gabbi Vanderhoof. “Our chemistry is a bit unique since two out of three band members are married to each other, so sometimes you want to slap the shit out of the person next to you, but I guess that’s a part of it. At the end of the day, we understand each other in a way that allows for us to share the themes from the album that are all deeply personal without fear of judgment from each other.”
Released during the dying embers of 2023, //Apologia// is quite a trip, but not always a happy one. The music’s sober, reflective atmosphere is mirrored by the lyrics to songs like //God Is A Ghost// (//“The wheels fell off so many miles ago…”//) and //Stale Skies// (//“Any edge that was left was smooth and worn…”//), which strongly suggest that real life demons are being elegantly exorcised.
“//Apologia// is a formal defence of one’s position, opinions, or actions,” says Gabbi. “So the lyrics of each song are kind of meant as such. A lot of the lyrics on this album started as poetry, with no intention of it
ever seeing the light of day, but as the album was coming together and we listened to it all back to back, the themes of addiction, coping with traumas, and heartbreak became increasingly clear. Much of the music and lyrics were written during a very turbulent time in couple of our members’ lives, so the mood of the music and themes in the lyrics reflect that.”
Sometimes thunderous, sometimes subtle, and always avowedly cosmic: We Are Space Horses may be the perfect, dark-edged psych rock band for these troublesome, bewildering times. Time to saddle up and face the future.
“//Apologia// came out during a kind of hiatus for us, so right now, our focus is getting back on the (space) horse!” says Kevin. “Playing live is how this all kind of started so it would be nice to get back to it. There’s some new stuff in the works and hopefully it’ll see the light of day soon. Our music will always be the melding of our influences and what we’re listening to, so we’re interested to see how it evolves. When things are ready, they will be released!”
PROG FILE:
LINE-UP: Kevin Vanderhoof (vocals/guitar), Gabbi Vanderhoof (bass/vocals), Eric Hochwald (drums/cello)
SOUNDS LIKE: Power trio space prog with a bruised soul
CURRENT RELEASE: //Apologia// is out now
WEBSITE: wearespacehorses.bandcamp.com
— Dom Lawson
From "Limelight - We Are Space Horses" Prog Issue 153 Reprinted with permission.
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