Revival--Horses of War

LA group Revival debuts in Horses of War, a scything lyrical effort supported by a mix of British psychedelica, post-punk, and touches of country. A short album at nine songs, Revival comes off as a version of Band of Horses that forgot to take their anti-depressants. In "Anniversary," vocalist Josh Read belts "And there’s a bottle of whiskey / And a pistol to make it complete." Need I say more? Revival mixes an alt-country attitude and instrumentals with postpunk effects, and songs like "Fog Rolling In" contain zoomy effects that could be passed off as British psychedelic influences. Mostly though, songs like "King of King’s" paint Revival as a bad Nickelback (or is that repetitive?), trying to infuse a bad-boy attitude with country-esque "she-left-me-for-my-brother" themes, all to alternative instrumentals. It doesn’t quite work, and despite the short length Horses of War drags and feels long. Revival do have their moments, the climax in "Fog Rolling In" and "When You Come Calling" are quite inspired, and catch your breath as they heighten and climb and fade back into their alternative guitar strumming. Revival need to add a little variety to their songs and work more with their strong points, rather than mixing too many influences into a musical mush. Horses of War ain’t bad, it just won’t become your favorite.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)