I Break Horses
Outkast Confirmed For Way Out West 2014
Posted on06 March 2014
I Break Horses, Hearts Album Review
By Dom Gourlay in Music Reviews on 17 August 2011
As the much-maligned genre of shoegaze currently enjoys its umpteenth resurrection courtesy of the broadsheets and glossies declaring it "The sound of 2011", it's perhaps worth mentioning that the sound inspired by all things 'Loveless' never really went away in the first place. Say what you like about The Horrors but 'Skying's predecessor 'Primary Colours' undoubtedly owed more to that phase than their current (and admittedly excellent) long player, while the growth of labels such as Sonic Cathedral, AC30 and Northern Star has kept the scene alive and kicking in and around London, occasionally breaking free and crossing the great divide also known as Watford Gap services.
That I Break Horses have nothing to do with London or any of the aforementioned imprints is irrelevant. The Stockholm based duo of Maria Linden and Fredrik Balck created their nom de plume by way of a shared love for all things Slowdive, Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, whilst never shying away from such influences. Although not the first in recent times to name check what is known in some quarters as the holy trinity of all things feedback and reverb drenched, the fact debut record 'Hearts' took approximately three years and several aborted attempts to make is testament to their dexterity in striving for a kind of unattainable perfection rather than obvious homage to days of yore.