Comradely Objects is every bit as mathematical as it is melodic, and as already covered artfully here at AD by Brent Sirota, it is arguably the crowing achievement of the Horse Lords cannon. Fresh on the heels of their latest release, we caught up with guitarist Owen Gardner and bassist Max Eilbacher to discuss recording in lockdown, relocating to Germany, weaponizing the avant-garde, Cornelius Cardew, and what happens when lyrics fail.
Category: Horse Lords
Horse Lords :: Comradely Objects
Horse Lords’ previous record The Common Task appeared on March 13, 2020. Two days later, the whole world began to close. The erstwhile Baltimore quartet (three of the members now live in Germany) returned this month to a world changed, but certainly not changed enough. The radical music on Comradely Objects speaks directly to our historical predicament: Horse Lords erect seemingly stable musical systems which they force to undergo transformation in spite of themselves.
Horse Lords :: The Common Task
Horse Lords have a way of infusing radical ideas with rational approaches. Over four studio albums, the Baltimore quartet has developed a sharp line of inquiry around systems that organize not only music-making but also society, philosophy, and belief. The ensemble gives the folksy appearance of a rock band–bass, drums, guitar, and saxophone–yet they regularly employ dense weaves of polyrhythms and explore mathematically derived tuning systems with modified instruments and electronic processing.