4Band: Neon Horse
Label: Tooth & Nail
Release Date: July 28th, 2009
Reviewed By: Chris W
Tracklisting:
1. When Daddy Gets Home
2. Strange Town
3. Yer Busy Little Beehive
4. Follow The Man
5. Some Folks
6. Haven’t Sinned In Years!
7. Cell-O-Phone
8. Chain Gang, Bang Bang
9. Comin’ Up Theventh
10. I Don’t Need Anything
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
Neon Horse has returned with a second album of bizarre new wave rock and roll dripping with that 80′s vibe.
Better known as “that Tooth & Nail supergroup”, or that band that we all discussed and pondered who exactly might be behind the madness when they first appeared. Neon Horse served up a well written debut that had touches of synth, good old fashioned rock n’roll, and truly unique vocals. This second time around things have changed a bit but still retain that same sound.
To begin with there is a lot more synth on this album which I still can’t shake the feeling that there is a Martin relative who is involved that we haven’t been informed of. *coughRONNIEcough* The songs are still driving and there are fewer of the slow ballads that were on the debut. The guitars still retain that heavy thick tone and the bluesy rock n’ roll feel of the debut. The quirky lyrics are still to be found. ” You be the Queen Of Sheba/ I’ll be the Ghengis Chaka Khan/ You be the wickedest witch/ I’ll be the big bad Don Juan” is my favorite and cracks me up. There are references to “Where The Wild Things Are” The most stand out track on the album is “Chain Gang, Bang Bang” which ventures into the swing genre complete with a horn section (wonder who provided those?) and a subtle reference to their debut single “Cuckoo” Good ol’ Mark Salomon has once again managed to put on a vocal performance that I would put right up there with Serj Tankien and Claudio Sanchez for some of the most unique vocals I’ve stumbled across.
[Overview] It’s like someone took the highway rock anthems of Steppenwolf, BTO, and ZZ Top and mixed them with the zany synth pop of Soft Cell, Devo, and David Bowie. This album is one of those that will stick with you for a long time.
Neon Horse - Haunted Horse: Songs of Love, Defiance, & Delusion,Click here to list all the reviews by Chris W
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Chris W, 23, lives in Alexandria, VA (right outside Washington DC) with his wife Lexi and is by profession a pastry chef, and by hobby synthpop artist Ursa Robotica. 
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I’m looking forward to picking this up when I get some spare change.
I’m excited to get my hands on this release, but…no local Best Buys have it according to their website. I guess I’ll have to find this another way.
Yep,this is impossible to find in stores!
yea, i found it in a regional chain called Newbury Comics. http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=103&upc=509992645402 its in stock. Amazon is out of stock
I thought maybe it went digital-only before I saw there were a couple copies on Amazon with “more on the way.”
Dude, had to do some modifications…
@fusse howso?
great review, bro. i’m sooo anxious to pick this up–it surprised me, i forgot it was coming out. i haven’t heard anything from it but yer busy little beehive, so i’m pumped to check it out.
’tis a good one!!
This album is sooo, so good..so many good releases lately (Surrogate, P86, SF59).
I second the “can’t find this anywhere” blues. Same thing has happened recently with Surrogate and SF59. Hate it.
http://www.thejesusunderground.com/c-NR.html
Guys you should support The Jesus Underground. They have been serving me flawlessly for many years. Couldn’t recommend any store more.
And they have bot Neon Horse and Stryper in stock.
Thanks for the reccomendation, Fusse!
I’d say Jason Martin, as opposed to Ronnie. A lot of the music reminds me of stuff on Starflyer 59′s Dial M album.
After only a couple listens, the only bad thing I have to say about the album is that it only lasts 30 minutes. I want more!
Then buy both albums, and burn them onto one disc. I think the two would flow seemlessly. And they would both fit, with room for some Starflyer at the end.
Well we know from the publishing site that Jason is involved, and it’s pretty hard to believe that one part on “Cuckoo” during the bridge isn’t him singing, even. However, “Cuckoo” also has an EXTREMELY similar riff to some Project 86 “Rival Factions” stuff, which was done by Ronnie. Don’t doubt his involvement, too, haha :-)
we also know jason is involved from the live concert they did. im very sure ronnie is involved. some of the synths on this album are 100% of the ronnie martin style
Why doesn’t anyone have video of the concert? lol
Seriously though. 30minutes. That’s ridiculous. I didn’t like that about the first album and seems to be the case this time around too. Price should be more like 7$ for an album that short.
@Dave, I wondered the same thing. Hardly anyone even commented on it. I was searching for video for awhile.
I think a 30 minute album fits this band well, but I agree Fusse – I’m probably gonna end up overpaying for it whenever I find it on some bright and glorious day.
Their Blog also said “More to come… much more to come.” I don’t know what that means.
this band has always cracked me up. theyre really good, but EXTREMELY different. the deeper singing voices remind me of something from winnie the pooh for some reason. listen to “Cuckoo” and at the chorus, imagine the tv show winnie the pooh.
YAY! I finally found this record in a store (in Lincoln, NE nonetheless) and I can now call myself content, haha.
i really liked this album.
I like Strange Town. It’s pretty different, but I like it.
I thought it was good, worth my money, some nice creepy music. However, it cannot be compared to the new Mute Math album, “Armistice”. Trust me, I am not big on vague lyrics, especially ones that seem to blur right and wrong, say that there is no absolute truth, try to insinuate everyone is the same. That said, these guys are incredibly gifted and their sound cannot be compared to anyone’s. There are so many songs on the album that stick with me and the hooks and noises and Paul Meany’s voice make me want to dance, put images in my head of memories and soothe me. The only artists in rock that are on par with them in terms of pop creativity are Kasabian and Rush.
I’m still having trouble getting into MuteMath. It may just be because I miss Earthsuit so much.
Chris – interesting place to bring up MuteMath. Also interesting that you bring up Kasabian, b/c their new album owns. Neon Horse is a completely different kind of band, though, so I don’t think there is much use in comparing the two.
i didn’t realize anyone missed earthsuit…so terrible.
Tyler, don’t make me cry.
Well, I listened to both albums around the same day. If this is your thing, buy it. If you are waiting for a masterpiece or just something more relaxed, get the new Mute Math.
I meant to say on the same day.
hey now, Earthsuit was good. Give ‘em a break!
for me to poop on
give Earthsuit a break one time, one time, one time, one time, one time, yeah
Earthsuit was actually very good.
I liked Earthsuit’s first album, and a couple songs on The Rise of Modern Simulation. The rest of TROMS was a waste of time.
Heads up, seven up to the schizophreniac…
John, speaking of the “can’t find it anywhere” blues, where did you pick up the final Stavesacre EP? And when did that come out anyway?
what TROMS? it was only available at shows, and i think only 1000 were printed. one of the members posted it for download somewhere
@The Headless Horseman, I bought the Stavesacre ep from their zambooie page. I got it with the Tshirt they were selling. It’s a great ep but I haven’t watched the DVD yet.
i got this a couple nights ago…my early impressions are that this is like a darker sf59 w/ a different vocalist…not bad, but still weird
Why does everybody think Neon Horse is so weird? Heh. Great album, a major step forward from the first one – I think it’ll have more lasting power. Haven’t Sinned In Years is -fantastic-. Chain Gang Bang Bang kills.
PS: the “mystery” of Neon Horse is not really a mystery. For the full scoop, listen to The Crucified’s press conference podcast from Cornerstone 09 at http://www.tollbooth.org (or search it out on iTunes). You will hear the Horse addressed…