If all is correct, then this was the second review I wrote for Cool Try.

This one is better than a fair few of the reviews that came after, but there still was a lot of work that needed to be done, I think.

This one is entirely as it was when it went onto Cool Try.

My colleague and I are working on growing Culture Eater so we can cover more stuff whilst taking the pressure of continually putting out content off of ourselves; Hence our going onto Patreon.

We’re looking at what we can give to supporters as we don’t want to set up a one way relationship, so suggestions are welcome. Please consider supporting, or at least sharing the Patreon page with others.

Please also check out what our wonderful contributors are contributing.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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“Neigh”.

I thought it would be good to start the review with a stock horse sound.

“Pale Horse” kicks off the album with relaxing guitar shortly followed by drums and mournful sounding vocals, setting the tone for most of the remaining songs.

A lot of it sounds fragile and delicate in some way or another; there’s a lot of gentle playing on the record and much of the sound is quiet in a sense.
This allows for the more intense-sounding sections to come through much stronger than they normally would. However, instead of sticking out, they end up forming a cohesive ebb and flow with the quieter sections.

At times there can be a bit too much reverb. Maybe this was done to make the songs sound more delicate and fragile than they already are but it can be distracting as it tends to stand out more than it should.

The band play quite well here. No one sounds like they’re trying to take the spotlight and everyone rises and falls in unison with each other which helps to further enhance the songs as they are overtly rhythmic. The vocals blend in well and seem to be treated more as a sound to add to the music instead of a mouthpiece to sing over the music.

With that being said, the lyrics haven’t been neglected and they sound quite decent. They seem to be poetic in nature (“All dark effects I’d long withstood / Upon my room advanced / The moving shade of Birnam Wood / Disguised by broken branch” from “Birnam Wood” is a good example) and add imagery that matches the music without coming off as ham-fisted.

Overall, Pale Horses is a good album.
Nothing comes off as overplayed or out of place and none of songs drag.
Due to its sound, it isn’t an immediate album but this gives more of a reason to keep listening to it as it doesn’t reveal itself straight away.
I’d recommend it.