The indie-country boom (not surprisingly) tends to be very US-centric, but one of the genre’s best newer bands hails not from America but from Norwich, England: Brown Horse. They began their life gigging around their local pub scene as a folk group before adopting a more electrified country rock sound on their acclaimed 2024 debut album “Reservoir”, and now 15 months later they released the even better “All The Right Weaknesses”.
Uncut‘s 9/10 review of the album points out that “Reservoir” gradually came together before the band had much of a following. After it came out, the band’s profile rose, relentless touring ensued, and the energy of the road resulted in a louder, looser, more collaborative follow up.
They’ve got three vocalists in Emma Tovell, Patrick Turner, and Phoebe Troup, and the album is powered by a fiery mix of rugged Crazy Horse-esque guitars, soaring pedal steel, and uplifting choruses. It only takes a couple listens to Brown Horse for them to feel like a band you’ve known your whole life, and even then, there’s something new and refreshing about them that stands out from every single artist they might remind you of.
Brown Horse rides again Not satisfied with a live review from March 2024, and a news item from last month, the six-piece Norwich-based country rock band has now muscled its way into today’s TOTW on the strength of new single ‘Dog Rose.’ It is the second single to be taken from Brown Horse’s new album All The Right Weaknesses, which came out earlier this year on the 4th of April via Loose Records.
The review makes comparisons to Crazy Horse, The Band, R.E.M., and David Berman, and points out that the album also makes a lyrical reference to indie-country pioneer Bill Callahan. Another 9/10 review from PopMatters also compares the band to Songs: Ohia, Adrianne Lenker, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, and Richard Buckner. All of these comparisons should give you a very good idea of what to expect, and Brown Horse already stand tall next to established names like these.
Like its predecessor ‘Corduroy Couch’, the new single confirms the growing confidence of Brown Horse’s songwriting. ‘Dog Rose’ barely gets out of a canter but its initially slow, loping stride enables us to luxuriate in the warmth and self-possession of their clearly developing melodic craft. But as the song gathers momentum and the guitars start to crash in Brown Horse show they are also not afraid to dust things up.
The Fat Angel Sings 