Brown Horse

British slacker twang quartet Brown Horse present “Wreck”, the third and final single from their upcoming album, Total Dive, out 10 April on Loose Music. A bonfire of anthemic country-rock, with world-weary electric guitars and glistening pedal steel howling through the verses like wind over the flatlands of East Anglia. “Wreck” is an ill-fated drive among the abandoned gas stations and otherworldly byways of rural Norfolk.

Fresh from a pared back UK tour supporting Courtney Marie Andrews, the band will hit the road with the full rockin’ band sound for their headline set of shows in April followed by their first foray to North America in May. A full list of dates can be found below—follow the band on Instagram for future news.

“Wreck” follows the previous singles “Twisters” (which The Guardian described as “a fantastic bit of country-rock in the vein of Neil Young or Kurt Vile, with gorgeous, circuitous electric guitar” in their Best New Tracks) and “Sorrow Reigns” (with a DIY video that “reinforces the rough and rugged feel of the music and the sense that Brown Horse stands outside of time” as described by Americana-UK).

With their third album Total Dive, Brown Horse showcase their strongest and most grounded work to date, with a new level of skill and assurance in the band’s thoughtful lyricism and musicality. Leaning away from the playfulness and eclecticism of their previous works, Total Dive sees Brown Horse step forward into the darkness with a cautious optimism. With songs from each of the four members (Patrick Turner, Nyle Holihan, Emma Tovell and Rowan Braham) the writing charts a world of small revelations and painful changes. As they move confidently between searing noise and delicate reflection, they take time to note the beauty and agony of the mundane; the death rattle of a vending machine, headlights flashing in the eyes of a road-killed fox, the heather-pink of a winter sky.

The new album is the clearest expression yet of Brown Horse’s unique sound – somewhere between the stark country rock of Uncle Tupelo, the raw intimacy of early Cat Power, and the haunted landscapes of Magnolia Electric Co., while embracing the self-possessed noisiness of alt rock trailblazers like Built to Spill and The Breeders. Bolstered by the playing of Norwich drummer, Ben Rodwell, and the vocal harmonies of Leeds-based musician, Neve Cariad, Total Dive is the sound of a band coming fully into their own. These are songs inhabited by wide Norfolk skies, thousands of shared miles on the road, the noise of heartbreak and humour, and the echoing silence of long hours spent in strange in-between places.

“You’d guess that this lot come from Tulsa, Oklahoma, rather than their actual home of Norwich. Twisters is a fantastic bit of country-rock in the vein of Neil Young or Kurt Vile, with gorgeous, circuitous electric guitar.” – The Guardian Playlist – The Week’s Best New Tracks

“An entirely unique yet instantly recognisable sound” – Mojo

“Brown Horse have come a long way in a very short time… On this evidence, they’re set to run and run.” Uncut 8/10

“A seriously good – and curiously British – addition to the country rock canon” – The Times

“Though the current indie-country boom tends to be US-centric, UK band Brown Horse are one of the best newer bands in this style and also one of the most prolific.” – Brooklyn Vegan

“a lived-in, warmly ragged sound that fits in nicely alongside all their American contemporaries, with just a hint of old-school UK indie depression in there” – Stereogum