Gus Englehorn’s 'The Hornbrook' is a small collection of fantasy stories put to a classic American and country rock sound. Equal parts creepy and playful, Englehorn’s lyrics are absolutely the standout quality of this intriguing project.
'The Hornbrook' opens with 'One Eyed Jack Part One' and Part Two, offering a perfect introduction into storytelling that stands out in this album while setting up a country rock soundscape reminiscent of American classic rock of old, and early-album Mother Mother of new. This evolves into a jumpy and easy-listen section that is the first part of this album, with tracks such as 'Thyme', 'The Itch', and 'Roderick of the Vale' all having a questing energy to them. 'The Itch' is the stand out song in this section of the project - utilising imagery metaphors of sinking to a riverbed on a more folk pop beat that dissociates the listener akin to being a jewel falling through the water. 'Roderick of the Vale' goes back to the storytelling lyrics that Englehorn excels in, spinning a story of love and death that would be commonplace in a tavern in any fantasy novel or detailed game of Dungeons and Dragons. The bars on this track in particular are captivating with a soundscape that gets slowly more sinister as the story moves from natural forests to supernatural valleys of the dead.
The second half of this album is where the momentum is lost for a listener. 'Metal Detector' was a welcome sound change, with harder guitars and drums throughout and has a 90s/00s indie feel to it, playing nicely with a shift in tone to less narratively driven lyrics while the music becomes darker and heavier. Some of this weight is kept in 'The Whirlwind’s speaking, with Englehorn hopping back into his metaphors and giving that questing feeling that was established earlier on in the project. This said, the last three tracks on this album may be the weakest. Englehorn’s love songs are not his strongest output despite the earnest pining contained in the lyrics of 'Sweet Marie', with the edge dropped and replaced with light high hats and melancholic guitars reminiscent of The Kinks. It fades into the background of the songs that came before it, with its largest announcement being its abrupt end.
'A Song With Arms and Legs' and album closer 'One Eyed Jack Part 3' don’t do much to bounce back. The slow-beginning-to-temperate-build structure has became apparent by this point; the return of the creepiness is welcome in the latter part of 'The Song of Arms and Legs', and does contain the standout lyric "It walked up to my doom and spat in its eye", but does not save it from the loss of engagement felt by the end of this project. 'One Eyed Jack Part 3' feels disappointing in terms of narrative structure as it does not finish the story of the titular Jack nor tie the quest the listener has been on up to this point - though on one hand this concept may be fun to play with for future adventures with One Eyed Jack and adds to the fable energy of the album overall, as a stand alone closer it is anticlimactic.
Overall, the standout elements of this project are Gus Englehorn’s prowess at lyricism and storytelling to music, building a fantasy world with just enough fun to draw listeners in and elements of creep that have listeners looking over their shoulder while they traverse. That creepiness is built wonderfully into the folk and vintage rock inspired sound that Englehorn works with, using haunting baselines and harmonies to add that edge to the sound. However, this is a story that feels unfinished in its narrative in places and the metaphors it uses sometimes do not go anywhere, while the commitment to that folk style sound means the project suffers from lack of impact in places where it would benefit from an all-in intro or a tone shift breakdown. The tracks in 'The Hornbook' should take pride of place in any chill day in nature or fantasy inspired tavern - beautiful stories that can fade into the background.
'The Hornbook' will be released on January 31st via Secret City Records.
Words: Julia Brunton
Photo: Kealan Shilling
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