The Judas Horse are a 3-piece who hail from Asheville, North Carolina. Linn Rogers, Meghan Mulhearn and David Lynch are the players bringing us Holy War, a 5-track album, which according to their web page tags, should sound like psychedelic southern gothic folk shoegaze. Probably the closest approximation of those probably enforced descriptions is folk, I’m really not hearing the shoegaze (guitars too clean).
Each of the 5 tracks on offer have a haunting funereal aura that would probably justify southern gothic and The Judas Horse have certainly heard some Dirty Three records along the way. Possibly some Handsome Family too, as there’s a haunting tinge to the vocals that occupy only two of the tracks on this short set.
I’m something of a violin fanatic, and the renegade styling’s of Dirty Three’s Warren Ellis are fairly to the fore here, courtesy of Meghan. It’s Holy War’s strongpoint and the only real lure for me as unfortunately each track is weighed down with some forceful guitar strumming which grates before long.
The final track Neighbor swells resonantly and shows promise, the intertwined vocals reminiscent of Neil Young and PJ Harvey. It’s at the song’s crescendo that I’d really have appreciated some drums or percussion but the album doesn’t have any, relying on the aforementioned cumbersome guitar chordwork for its rhythms.
There’s a talented violinist in this band who could possibly do with seeking out a better forum to share her ability. At times the recording sounds like there were more players involved but half the band have had their playback button switched to mute; the minimalism doesn’t really have the effect they were maybe aiming for. More of a Dirty One and a Half than a Dirty Three.
Holy War is avaiable now through their Bandcamp page.
Words by Geoff Topley.
