HORSE the band, Desperate Living

To paraphrase the great comedy Blazing Saddles, “What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is this?” HORSE the band is a quintet of musicians from California that specialize in something called “Nintendocore” — this is the term the band came up with to describe their unique blend of metalcore and unusual electronic sounds. To simply dismiss the band as a joke because of that label and their name would be a mistake, however.

What they have done is updated the Frank Zappa method of songwriting. All normal expectations of song structure are thrown out in favor of what the band feels. All songs are augmented with curious sounds and abrupt tempo changes. “Failure of Things” goes from a thrashing beat with Casio keyboards to a slow breakdown that is reminiscent of She Wants Revenge, and then out of nowhere a Mario Bros. sound comes along. They show a more atmospheric side on “Golden Mummy Golden Bird,” in which they let loose their inner Art of Noise, at least until the craziness overtakes it.

There’s a lot of great playing on Desperate Living, and obviously the band has a lot of talent. However, do not expect them to be showy or virtuoso-like in their approach. It’s not neccesarily an easy listen, but it is an enjoyable one.