Hold Your Horse Is - Forgive And Forget (Single Review)
Monday, 31 January 2011
Written by Ben Bland
Hampshire/Surrey trio Hold Your Horse Is are making a name for themselves with catchy, off-kilter alt-rock anthems. Last year’s ‘Rammin’ It Home’ EP was their first release on Big Scary Monsters and earned them praise from numerous quarters, much like their energetic live performances.
Whilst that EP showed that the band clearly has ambitions for the widescreen sound achieved by the likes of Biffy Clyro. ‘Forgive and Forget’ is more of a standard, straight-up rock song than anything else. Perhaps this is why it does not quite work in the same way as the rest of the band’s catalogue to date. There’s no real feeling of danger when listening to this song. There aren’t really any moments when one feels things are going to go totally haywire. You don’t listen to this song and imagine being present at a Hold Your Horse Is gig in some tiny Camden sweatbox, like you do with much of the band’s prior material.
That doesn’t make ‘Forgive and Forget’ a bad song by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just that it’s a strange choice of song for the band to release in follow up to their eventful 2010. It fails to show off the band at their most thrilling, which is surely what a band in Hold Your Horse Is’ position must do above all else with their singles. It’s memorable but not in the same way as the likes of ‘You Show Up’ and ‘Christopher Walken’.
The lyrics are a bit clunky as well (“When you asked me, I said woah”). It also seems a little underdeveloped. The first half sounds unsure of where it’s going and what it wants to be but the second half is great, the song building up into something far better than it originally promises. As ever, they do rock quite hard, and it’s undeniably fun. Plus it has that slight Reuben-esque touch (something every self-respecting British alt-rock act should have) that the band has always had but it still feels like an album track rather than a single and is thus underwhelming.
I, and many others, have high hopes for Hold Your Horse Is, which have already been partly repaid with last year’s excellent EP release, but it’s a bit disappointing to see them releasing something as ‘just good’ as this. I’m confident their debut full-length, which should be due later this year, will be an awesome record; probably one of the best British releases of 2011 but this isn’t quite up to scratch as a debut release for the year even if it is a good song in its own right.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
