An Horse

Australian guy/girl two piece An Horse have a knack for trotting out punk rock length Interpol meets Sleater-Kinney tracks that are as easy on the ears as their grammatically questionable two syllable tongue twister name is difficult on the lips.

Their aptly titled EP Not Really Scared shows a band fearlessly cranking out ebullient, unironic lyrics and moods using sonic techniques commonly favored by world weary, seen-it-all-before big city bands. Not unlike fellow Aussies Jet and Sia, they are unburdened by the over-hyped and over-exposed North American music scenes where a newly discovered talent can generate grass roots level excitement only to find that in a matter of weeks word of mouth buzz has turned into an equal and opposite backlash.

“Postcards,” “Company,” and “Shoes Watch” show Kate Cooper and Damon Cox in full post-punk mode musically. Jittery guitar chords recall Interpol, while the decision to build progressive intensity instead of using a loud/soft dynamic reminds of Arcade Fire sans Glockenspiel. Ostensibly a two piece, most songs have too many instruments for four hands to play (a live viewing is necessary for the complete story here). Regardless of how it’s done in the studio, the sound is full, lacking nothing.

Cooper’s uncomplicated lyrics are heartwarming and honest, but some listeners will find them shallow and boring on repeated listening. On “Camp Out” she sings “…a song for the one that I love/ I haven’t met one yet/ but I’m quietly confident.” Later she wonders “what if what I’m looking for doesn’t exist/ I have to believe it does.” Cooper is unafraid to namedrop “that good Hole album…Live Through This.”

It’s not like an indie band has to have baroque, hopelessly obscure lyrics in order to prove its artistic chops, but sometimes it seems that Cooper and Cox’s instruments write checks that their lyrics can’t cash. While the lack of snobbish pretense in the Aussie music scene encourages plucky openness, the rigors of pushing to be heard in a crowded scene can sharpen and hone a band creatively. An Horse’s creative naiveté is fine for an EP, but a full album would go from gallop to slow canter before track 6.

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