Desperate Living

HORSE the Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 6, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vagrant Records
• ASIN: B002MW50E0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,075 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 release from the Southern Californa Post-Hardcore outfit. Horse The Band teeter on the brink of brilliance, total ruin and extinction. All day. Every day. This mere fact of their existence is masterfully executed by and evidenced on their latest slab of artful noise, Desperate Living, an album which is inspired by John Waters' film of the same name and the experiences the band has endured over the past several years in the eats-its-young music business. Desperate Living has the blood of the musicians who created it coursing through its tainted veins. It pierces like a spear through the heart and transports your mind to altered states of consciousness.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible Q-bert like dance party., October 7, 2009

By 

David Joyner "Video Game-Addict" (Fayetteville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Desperate Living (Audio CD)

When I first put in my Desperate Living CD, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I had heard that the band was trying to distance themselves a bit from their metal influences, and honestly it made me nervous. I first discovered HtB AS a metal band, and wasn't ready to part with that yet. Little did I know, HtB had grown on me with their own unique style and sound, and metal wasn't even a part of the equation anymore.

Sure, there's still screaming, there's still some double bass, and there's still some rough, raw guitar with heavy distortion; but the pacing, the smooth transitions, and expert keyboard playing take it almost out of the rock genre altogether. It's really something to experience. Also, lead singer Nathan Winneke actually places melody in several of their songs (something that was experimented with in A Natural Death) and creates a powerful feel without a wide vocal range.

Some tracks are still head-noddingly awesome, while others sometimes are slower, and fill your head with random images (which does seem almost like what they wanted to happen). Now, when I say slower, I don't mean slow. Anyone who is familiar with HtB's music knows that they are more fast paced than a cheetah on speed, so they'll understand.

Desperate Living is way more than I ever expected it to be. It's well paced, well versed, beautiful (in their own way) and still sloppy (once again, in their own way). Horse the Band's sound has really come out, and it only took them 5 CDs to do it.

Also, if you like videogames, they reference them a lot. Good stuff.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best HORSE the Band Release to Date, October 6, 2009

By 

Kit Kitsch - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desperate Living (Audio CD)

There really isn't a band out there quite like this one. That being said it definitely took my awhile to get into their first few albums. And they were great but I really do think their Vagrant Records debut, Desperate Living, is the best album they've put out so far. And they don't do it by changing their sound. They've stayed true to their own style and only expanded on it.

One little setback for me though. They still have their random noises thing going in some of their songs and it did annoy me just a little bit. I've gotten used to their style so normally it wouldn't be a problem. But, you'll notice that a good portion of these songs are a little darker and sadder than most of their other material. The randomness in those songs just takes me out of the tempo of the song a little bit and it's a little annoying but certainly nothing to be overly upset about.

I would say that most of the songs on the album are great and I don't have a particular favorite but The Failure of All Things, to me, summarizes the nature of album pretty well.

This album also has MUCH better production than their previous albums, which was to be expected. I'll also say that the drumming on this album is excellent and really melds well with the music. All in all, it just seems like all the noises you're going to hear are working together instead of fighting each other. It really shows how far they've come and even if you absolutely hate HORSE the Band, you should still check this out.

I guarantee, you won't find another album or another band quite like this one. It's unique, fresh and just a fantastic album.

5.0 out of 5 stars They Figured it all out, June 27, 2011

By 

david - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desperate Living (Audio CD)

I,ve been a fan for some years now,but they I've allways kind of saw them as novelty act.But on this release they found the perfect formula.The mix of the keyboards and the rest of the band merge together perfectly without ever sounding tacked on and corny.the Album has a very clean production value and sounds awesome on a nice system.There best album to date,I just hope they can keep it up.