What do you think when you see “Girl with Fish?” The Life section gravitates toward reviewing the 2023 album by Feeble Little Horse. Welcome back to “Split Record Review,” where we give coverage of music through the lens of two different writers. This band has made its presence known only through one extended play and two albums (both roughly about EP length), an admirable feat in its own right. Going through the motions by touring, namely making a stop at the University of Connecticut quite recently, it is a fresh new band to keep up with. What do Henry and James have to think about them?
Henry’s Review
Carrying on the legacy of lo-fi rock bands like Guided by Voices, the Microphones, Sebadoh and Duster is Pittsburgh’s Feeble Little Horse. Combining the laid-back, slacker rock sound with classic shoegaze’s pure apathy, the quartet has amassed an ever-growing fanbase in just three years.
If you were around during WHUS’ “Mischief After Dark,” you’ve seen how special this group really is. Aside from head-nodding music, their chemistry as a group is incredibly evident onstage. I had the pleasure of interviewing the band before their performance and was able to learn a great deal about their creative process. The group’s upward trajectory is no surprise given their frequent sonic leaps.
Feeble Little Horse released their debut LP shortly after their formation in 2021, “Hayday,” cementing their sound and position as a forerunner of indie rock in the 2020s. Their rise was quick, signing to Saddle Creek Records in time for their second release.
“Girl with Fish” is the group’s sophomore record, coming out in June 2023. It sits at a tight 26 minutes: all killer, no filler. The opener, “Freak,” sets the tone of the record perfectly, driven by blown-out guitars, punchy drums and infectious hooks sung by the group’s lead singer, Lydia Slocum.
“Steamroller” is a standout track on the record, featuring one of the catchiest choruses and a dreamy feel. Synthesizers provided by guitarist Ryan Walchonski add a wary vibe to the song, complementing Slocum’s soft but powerful vocals.
Walchonski and Seb Kinsler showcase their innovative guitar work all over this album, which is often drenched in fuzz, reverb and layers of eccentric effects that make the guitar sound almost unrecognizable. At times, the synthesizers and guitar work blend in with each other, crafting ethereal sounds that broach the aural uncanny valley.
“Paces” is on the softer side, featuring acoustic guitars layered on top of wavering synthesizers and dense harmonies. There are frequent pauses and stops throughout the song’s two-minute runtime, providing a sense of tension and release that makes the track all the more interesting.
“Sweet” features vocals from Kinsler and showcases the group’s lyrical abilities. The track features dark and cryptic lyrics, cast over an anxious instrumental arrangement. The song is one of the most intensely emotional on the record, and my only problem is that it’s far too short. One of the biggest problems I have with this record is the song’s lengths, with most of them sitting at just over two minutes. While most of the ideas featured are completely fleshed out, some of them seem like they could be explored more.
“Pocket” is uneasy, featuring racing thoughts in spoken word, and a sudden change on the back half of the track from uneasy rock to an abrasive wall of sound. The outro fades back to the uneasy sound from the first half, before ending abruptly and slamming the listener into the next song, “Station.”
“Station” has some of the best guitar work on the record, with a bouncy acoustic line that carries the midsection of the song between verses. It serves as a perfect pretense before the album’s finale with “Heavy Water.”
The album’s closer summarizes the group’s sound and the album’s entire vibe. Switching between soft and intimate acoustic passages with loud and melancholic verses. Once again, many of the ideas present in this song could be further explored if the band had pushed the three-minute mark. Though short, it’s a fantastic way to end the album.
“Girl with Fish” is a great album for the fall season, and soundtracks the dropping temperatures with warm guitars and vocals. While the band couldn’t provide any details about their next moves during WHUS’ interview with them, it’s certainly going to be in an interesting direction.
Rating: 4.5/5
James’ Review
Considering the innocent-sounding names of their band and this album, the only clue unsuspecting listeners have about Feeble Little Horse’s style is the ravenous German shepherd on the upper-left of this album cover. They throw the listener right into intense shoegaze from the album’s intro track, “Freak.” Vocalist Lydia Slocum repeats “I know you want me, freak” with a deadpan inflection while the noisy soundscape comes to fruition. Guitarists Seb Kinsler and Ryan Walchonski are prominent in the mix, while drummer Jake Kelley hits the drums on this track like they’re his worst enemy.
“Tin Man” uses what sounds like a reversed bell sound and grunts in the chorus, keeping the high-octane energy of the record going. “Steamroller” makes up for its small number of lyrics with clever wordplay revolving around baking and eating, tying it into sex namely when Slocum states, “I’m the only one who sees me naked” to end off two of the verses. I wish more of their tracks neared the three-and-a-half-minute length of this one. Its fulfilling structure leaves a lot for the listener to chew on, though it’s unfortunately the longest song off the record.
“Heaven” takes a slower approach and makes one realize that Slocum fits well as the vocalist for this band, yet she could be successful as a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar. The 30-second outro for the track is a bit pointless; I would argue it’s filling up run-time for most records but this one’s only 26 minutes so there’s not much material here in the first place.
According to the album’s credits, “Paces” is the only song to utilize two bass guitars. The song’s sound is mainly tinny and upbeat until the grungy ending and also manages to feel like a complete song. “Sweet” features a duet between Kinsler and Slocum, giving some variety, which works out, even though Slocum does a good job carrying this album on her back vocal-wise.
“Slide” is a bona fide indie cut that begins with acoustic guitar, then transitions into the band’s shoegaze sound in the chorus. It’s a pretty neat structure, though Slocum’s vocals get drowned out in the mix at times. “Pocket” contains one too many instances of “Do you wanna be in my pocket?” along with a verse where Slocum spills her thoughts out, almost as if she’s rapping, leading to an unremarkable moment on the record. However, the shortcomings of that part are negated by strong, screamo-esque vocals that conclude the song, repeating the song’s refrain.
“Station” is primarily instrumental, but Slocum gives it some lyrical substance by singing the same quatrain twice. The band hints at a climax for the song, considering the instrumental progression in the second half, yet the final seconds are unfulfilling. I blame deficiencies like these on the band’s insistence on keeping their tracks short and sweet because there’s only so much a song can do when it’s under three minutes. By “Heavy Water,” I feel like I’ve heard the song already, and honestly, the ambiguity of the speaker on “Station” gives the album a fitting end: one track too many.
While one of my favorite albums of all time, “Some Rap Songs” by Earl Sweatshirt, is around this length, indie albums that are under half an hour are more pleasant than impressive to me. I hope Feeble Little Horse develops their discography to make it have staying power in the scene; nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey and would recommend looking out for their next release, no matter how brief it is.
Rating: 3.5/5