Horse Radish’s new album Stimulus Response takes the group beyond their kitchen-jams beginnings into a fuller sonic palette, embracing realms of rock and folk while holding tight to emotional clarity and warm lyricism. Two tracks in particular — “Outer Space” and “Time Passes By” — demonstrate the band’s ability to move between shy longing and melancholic reflection. “Outer Space” feels like a covert love letter, from tender inquiry to grief-tinged crescendo, and “Time Passes By” wears its twangy, autumnal heart on its sleeve
“You’re a big enigma to me,” the vocals admit to open “Outer Space,” vulnerable in asking “have I been, been more than rosy cheeks to you?” and exploring whether the adoration extends beyond triviality. Dreamy guitar strums and mellow keys bolster an ascending vocal presence, yearning to “know you good” and wondering the “places you go, when you look at me.” Debonair guitar tones, with shades of Dire Straits, arrives in delectable form as the finale hits. Described as “a love letter to my mother in disguise,” “Outer Space” succeeds in its expanse from vulnerable questions to heart-aching depictions of frustration and grief.
Also a standout track, “Time Passes By” achieves a twangy folk aesthetic — as the lyrics ruminate on changing seasons and people, and drawing a particularly notable aesthetical inspiration from Fleetwood Mac. The likeness of another to “an autumn moon” plays upon the fleeting nature of some relationships, and the pain in getting over those brief yet impactful connections. Both tracks are thorough successes from Horse Radish, who show a tendency for fantastic songwriting throughout the entirety of Stimulus Response.
Stream these two excellent tracks and the rest of Stimulus Response, below:
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These and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
