This Dutch Alternative/ Indie Rock quartet (consisting of singers/ guitarists Arjen & Vincent Hilberdink, bassist Arjan Pronk, and drummer Jeroen Hobert) based in Zwolle (situated in the northern part of middle Holland, roughly between Amsterdam and Enschede) first let itself be heard on album with their self-titled debut, released in April of 2007.
Produced by Henk Jonkers (drummer for Claw Boys Claw), the album was given the attention and airplay by Dutch (3FM, 3voor12, Kink FM) radio programs (as well as Belgium's national channel Studio Brussel), and thus the band was given the opportunity to promote its debut album on some of the more classy venues and festivals, in a total of 70 shows. It was an extra opportunity for the young band, in that all those shows allowed the members to really tune into each other. In February of 2009 the band travels to Denton, Texas, where they record their sophomore album Olympus (released in May) at The Echo Lab Studios with producer Matt Pence (Centro-Matic) in two weeks flat! With guesting musicians on cello, violin and saxophone, the end result was something the four youngsters flipped over backwards for from amazement, as it made their tunes fuller, woolier...more beautiful. It also changed the band's musical outlook into something poppier, as opposed to the band's original music...but when push comes to shove, the guys make music for themselves in the first place, not to attain stardom!
According to the band's presentation of themselves on their facebook page (www.) facebook.com/TheHorseCompany, one can hear the band members' broad taste in music in what they play : “...Country, Rock, New Wave, Shoegaze, Indie, Pop, punk, Americana, and Classic Rock...it all flows through each other...you don't have to think to much about music, you gotta let it happen!...”! Nice words, but overall the mood on this third album (I have no details as to where and when, or with whom as producer, it was recorded) by the band doés have a soft Shoegazer feel to yours truly. Truly enough, influences from other genres dó come into play here and there, and the intensities certainly vary from very soft passages to far more energetic ones (but still staying within the Rock idiom rather than venturing into heavier sub-styles). Should be great stuff to listen to during hot Summer evenings, when some of us like to go sit out on the porch with a good book, or a glass of cool lemonade...and Calypso playing in the background, but loud enough for you to hear every nuance in the music!
To get an idea of what the band sounds like on its third album (which is a return to guitar-driven music), you would have to make due with the title track they posted on both their facebook page (link to Bandcamp, where you can also listen to – all? - songs off the previous albums), check the album's page at one of your trusted online sales sites for snippets of the other 8 songs on the album, or go out to the local record store for a listening session of the album. Alternatively, you might try and catch the band at one of its upcoming concerts (dates on the facebook page). The band also has a MySpace page (www.) myspace.com/horsecompany.