Being Dead
When Horses Would Run
***and1/2 out of *****
The Austin, TX based trio Being Dead's debut full length release is a oddball mix of different sounds that starts bright and whimsical before things turn darker and stranger as the record progresses, just as their band name and forbidding album title When Horses Would Run suggests.
The trio of Falcon B*tch, Gumball, and Ricky Moto have crafted a collage of sounds that don't always fit together but manage to convey an over arching feeling of artistic searching. Falcon B*tch and Gumball will switch between various instruments and vocal duties while Moto plays bass. Everything and anything can make it into these wooly tunes.
The record wisely starts off with the most polished efforts. Opener "The Great American Picnic" is a surf psychedelia combo that channels both Dick Dale and The Mamas and the Papas while injecting a dusty Texas tilt to a very cool song. The galloping "Last Living Buffalo" rides the plains before a crashing distorted lash out triggers action, then returns to the musical theme and "Muriel's Big Day Off" has a shimmering slice of 60's era garage pop before moving to a jazzy interlude, delivering a really neat ride all around.
After that things get a bit more experimental. "Come On" uses punk power drumming and digital bleeps and blasts, "Daydream" gets by on dreamy la-la-la's and the stripped down duet of "God vs. Bible" is only harmonies and handclaps. "Treeland" feels like a sonic tree hugging journey as the group deploy banging drums to start the punky duet before spacing out in hippy fashion, then shift back to the punk vibe, the overall tune is drawn out and interesting throughout.
Not everything is as successful, the albums title track is wandering and never comes truly into focus, but the bands quirky theme song is cute and brief. The fuzzy pop of "Holy Team" shifts gears into an underwater sounding drug trip that floats into the ominous and bleak "Misery Lane" while "Livin' Easy" sounds anything but that, until it grows defiant to close.
Being Dead's full length debut, When Horses Would Run, is like a patchwork quilt stitched by a first timer, it can be warm and comforting but look odd and lumpy at times.
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