Rearrange Beds by An Horse
LABEL: Mom & Pop Music
An Horse has one of the best magical success stories, being 'discovered' by Tegan and Sara during a promotional visit to a record store they were working at and in time being invited to open their US tour for them. Of course, Kate Cooper and Damon Cox had been performing in local bands and working on releases and everything else for years—but the truth is just a letdown from the pretty, shorter version of the story. And when someone hears An Horse for the first time, there is no trouble believing the magic could happen just that way. They are a wonderful, pleasant experience from the time the needle drops.
Rearrange Beds, their debut full length album follows an amazing EP and their exposure on tours to thrill their nascent listening base—and hopefully growing it. The multi-layered and delightful melodies and their witty, catchy lyrics entice anyone to smile as they listen, to bob their head and tap their foot or hopefully even more. Not reaching the United States until March is the only real complaint about this album, given the Australians got it two unfair months early.
A little more objectively, there are moments where the drums grow a touch tedious—in the more repetitive moments of the songs almost universally. Kate's voice doesn't maintain a constant level of strength between tracks and here and there the lyrics struggle and stumble. But for a debut LP, there isn't much hesitation in calling it fabulous.
REVIEWED BY RAIN PLETCHER
rain@groovemine.com
