Horse Party - Scarlet + Blue (Self release)

Three stark tracks of grinding gritty rock spew from your speakers with a definite sneer behind lashings of distortion.

For a live recording, the sound quality is exceptional. The levels are perfect and there is an impressive conformity within the group. The beauty of the live recording is that it injects an intoxicating dose of vitality and personality into each song; there is no sterility or polished overproduction that can sometimes result from studio work.

The vocals are provided by Eleanor Lou alone on the first and final track, while she is accompanied by fellow guitarist Seymour Quigley for middle song ‘Scarlet & Blue,’ which works surprisingly well. Their voices fit together seamlessly and sit against the thrash-out guitars and hammering drums with a noticeable poignancy. The guitars jump from melodiously macabre, bending stuttering flurries to rhythmical stabs that lean heavily into the vicious backbeats. Drummer Shannon Hope has a heaviness that cuts deliciously through the mesh of sound.

Lou’s vocals have a smouldering quality when she brings it down, adding an emotive twist to it all. She also has the capacity to belt it out when called for and to warp her voice around the accompaniment.

A heavy helping of attitude struts majestically through the three well-arranged tracks, which are cohesive, brazen and delightfully noisy.

The climax of the trio of songs falls at the very end with a caterwauling guitar solo that mimics the earlier vocal melody of final track ‘Six.’ The intensity builds before dropping back into the slow swagger that started it all.

The live element is integral to this collection of songs, whose ambience is amplified by snippets of a highly appreciative audience.