Race Horses

"Emergent rock bands are bound to be measured against their influences, their environment, or, in the case of Race Horses, a combination of both. The quartet is based in Cardiff, Wales, and their bilingual music puts a whimsical spin on UK traditions ranging from music hall and psychedelia to glam rock and post-punk. So any discussion of Race Horses will inevitably lead back to equally warped Welsh forbears like Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals. But with Gorky's having disbanded in 2006, and the Super Furries continuing to mutate far beyond their psych-pop origins, it's more constructive to view Race Horses not as imitators but as rightful heirs to the Welsh Class-of-1996 legacy. Their wonderful debut album, Goodbye Falkenburg, certainly proves they're up to the task. What's most striking about the record is that Race Horses never let their grandiose ambitions get in the way of energy and urgency. With spiritual kin like Wild Beasts and Los Campesinos! already bending ears on both sides of the Atlantic toward flamboyant and erudite UK art-pop. With any luck, Race Horses will score the victory lap for this absurdity-is-the-new-sincerity movement" PITCHFORK

"Goodbye Falkenburg is an utterly entertaining trip” MOJO

“cut from the same gonzoid pop cloth as Super Furry Animals, full of psych rock & Beatles soaked harmonies” Q MAGAZINE

“colliery band parps, early Of-Montreal jangle, pastoral melancholy and what sounds like Beirut captaining a pirate ship maintain their standing as purveyors of mighty fine singles” NME

“a wilfully zany debut with mischievous spirit that's hard to dislike” UNCUT

“Goodbye Falkenberg is an off-kilter masterpiece, irrerverant, unadulterated and well worth a listen”. DROWNED IN SOUND 8/10

"A 13 track joyride, it hurts psychedelia, White Album Beatles, glam-rock, electro, barbershop, tropicalia, chamber pop and post-rock into the mix. The result is a beserk and brilliant record" SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE (Breaking Act)

"Goodbye Falkenburg’, the quartet prove that they are quite versatile, writing brilliant pop songs with plenty of quirkiness included. The future looks bright for this lot, make no mistake" THIS IS FAKE DIY 8/10

"While it's easy to see why this Welsh four-piece have been compared to Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, this fast paced set is delivered with such force that theri wonky pop songs take on the gritty backbone of 60's garage. Complex four part harmonies give them the air of a creepy barbershop quartet, while a self guitar ode to Glenn Millar's "Pennsylvania 6-5000" leads into an operatic solo with the confidence of a backwater "Bohemian Rhapsody". Race Horses are fearless experimenters and the fast-slow-fast-again approach keep the audience shouting and dancing till the feedback fades"
NME (live review)

"It's not just a willingness to sing in their native tongue or the waft of jazz cigarettes that puts Aberystwyth's Race Horses on a similar footing to Super Furry Animals. Like that band, Race Horses have a talent for multi-coloured, gonzoid indie pop that's as ambitious as it is catchy. And like The Coral or British Sea Power at their most unhinged, R H's crooked, breezily psychedelic tunes are informed by the foursome's rejection of "reality, realism and music and words that are too literal" Still, debut single "Cake" has double meaning. As loopy as its cover - a collage of trifles, sea anemones, fried eggs and an Egyptian pyramid - its not a naughty reference to the "drug" made notorious tby Brass Eye, but a chugging, hand-clapping celebration of the joys of baking. Fun but not twee, it bodes well for their forthcoming album Goodbye Falkenburg"
METRO (Ones To Watch)

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