Spook the Horses: Rainmaker

Remember that scene in The Ring (I'm thinking of the American version here) when the protagonist, Rachel, watches a horse jump off of a ferry? The scene has nothing to do with this album, but this band's name reminds me of the sheer pathos of that moment. Who would ever want to watch a horse jump to its own death because it was too afraid to stay put? It's an affecting moment, one that's hard to forget.

The mood of this is heavy, but not nearly as intense as something like The Ring. Nevertheless, the music here is has its own power to evoke powerful moods. I liked the way the music drew on post-hardcore atmospheres to create a sense of overall heaviness, but did so with enough space to let my thoughts wander from the dark depths to the sublime heights. I liked the music best when it was instrumental; the vocals here are pretty good, soothing even, but they didn't stick with me as much as the instruments that played alongside them. Put another way, I liked what the guitars were doing more than what the vocals were doing. Still, the vocals bring a genuine sadness to the music that adds to the overall atmosphere.

One of the larger drawbacks to this album is that its ambition sometimes outpaces its quality. The music is generally good, but there are sometimes too many things going on at once, things that could perhaps have been taken in different directions. Fans of post-hardcore should enjoy this one.

Track Listing:
1. Footfall
2. Widening
3. Overburden
4. Flood
5. The Saint
6. Saboteur
7. Drought
8. Below Our Time

Added: February 3rd 2015
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1467
Language: english

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