Customer Reviews

Are We Not Horses

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first heard about the concept for this album my though was, "If the songs at all live up to the concept, I'm going to be really impressed."
Well, they did, and I was.

See, this album takes three of my favorite things (robot horses, existential crises, and albums with a coherent narrative arc), and then blends them together in an epic, poignant, furious masterpiece. Singer Chris Eaton's supremely unique voice adds a strength and depth to an album that could otherwise be dismissible, and the simple but brilliant lyrics are touching and honest, evoking empathy and passion for our equine protagonists. We want to whinny and stamp our hooves at their triumph and despair.

The first tracks set the scene for the unfolding drama. I Am An Excellent Steel Horse is an optimistic, breezy opener, followed by the smoldering passion of How Shall I To Heaven Aspire.
The following tracks are in turn raucous, buoyant, bitter and complex. The album's midpoint, Are We Not Horses, is a despairing and brassy look at our protagonist's motivations while displaying some of Rock Plaza Central's most poignant lyrics ("Am I just a lightning rod or am I breathing?"), culminating in a furious galloping scream: "If we're not horses, what are we then?"
The sweet, homely guitar parts and gentle background chorus of When We Go, How We Go (Part I) and Our Pasts, Like Lighthouses are a greatly appreciated chance for us to catch our breath, segueing into the energetic sweetness of 08/14/03 and stalwart optimism of Our Hearts Will Not Rust before the driving climax of When We Go, How We Go (Part II).
While the forward momentum for each song occasionally falters (most notably for me, the end of How Shall I To Heaven Aspire), every single song on this album is driving forward to the sweeping, soothing finale of We've Got A Lot To Be Glad For, a sort of balm for the emotional scars inflicted by the previous tracks.

This album was made to be listened to a a whole, cohesive story, from first breath to last fading note. Stick this in your player, turn the volume up and the lights off, and breathe in deep as our horses fight to heaven and back. You will come out changed.

I don't usually write reviews on Amazon, but felt the need to combat the 3-stars by one reviewer. This is quite simply a great album. If you are an Elephant 6, Neutral Milk Hotel, Arcade Fire and basically an indie rock fan then you will love this album. Where you can go wrong, and I think the last reviewer went wrong, is comparing "Are We Not Horses," and Rock Plaza Central to legendary bands like Neutral Milk Hotel.
About the album: Chris Eaton sings more passionately about robotic steel horses than most musicians sing about their own human experiences. The lyricism and continuous story line keep you interested throughout the album, but at the same time it is not exactly a concept album. From the very first line, "I am an excellent steel horse..." in Chris Eaton's great rapsody voice, you automatically say to yourself, I want to hear where this is going. Then when the horns and violins come in, mixed with the acoustic guitar, it has an a sublime effect, where you can just lose yourself and get away from this world for 40 minutes. "My Children Be Joyful" is probably their most epic song as a band and you will not get enough of Chris Eaton's laaaa deee daaaa's. The chilling vibe of "15 hands" and "Are We Not Horses?" leads to one of the best and simplest songs on the album "When We Go, How We go?" Great lyrics, great tune, makes you want to be alive. This is a great album...released in Canada in 2006 then under Yep Rock in the States in 2007...this is the indie rock album of the year so far.

I love Are We Not Horses in all ways - except, at times, the vocals. In the end, though, the frank, unsubtle vocals contribute to the simple joy of this album.

pros: this band has a unique sound and vision. as a total "package" (i.e. style, aesthetic, presentation, etc) they have something good and pure.

cons: they can't write tunes. the songs are there lyrically, and musically chris eaton has alot to work with, but many of these songs get by purely on the goodness of the instruments (rich acoustic guitar, lovely horns, probably other things i haven't noticed) because there no real melodies to speak of. comparisons to neutral milk hotel are thus a bit off -- both bands have horns, sure, but NMH is a supremely melodic band, and also a supremely propulsive one -- their songs, whether slow or fast, build forward momentum and release it to incredibly satisfying effect. rock plaza central's songs have no forward momentum. after listening to the album 5-6 times, i still have no idea if there are even drums on it.

unfortunately, the lack of variety in terms of tempo, energy, etc, makes this album seem like a big sticky black lump of songs, without any means to separate of differentiate them.

Are We Not Horses got a lot of (overdone) critical praise when it came out, but that fell off rather fast. like most any band that gets a rave review in the taste-making Pitchfork, the high score is basically a fluke, unrelated to the quality of the album and dependng instead on a myriad of more nebulous factors.

in this case, what we have is a too high score for an album that simply can't deliver its promised highs.