Brown Horse – Reservoir Review

Alt-country charms are few and far between. If the start of this year has taught us anything, now is the time for kicking the pricks and rallying through with punk cries and off-centre objectives. Brown Horse has all this flowing through it on their debut album Reservoir but gives it the country tinge expected of an exciting slice of Norwich. Though incendiary experiences do not often occur in Norfolk County, the rarities of life happen from time to time and cough out Brown Horse as a result. This is not your typical whiskey and horse’s scenario which is so often experienced through the endless glut of Americana drivel. Ignore the fact opening track Stealing Horses is all about the extraction of four-legged creatures from where they should be.  

This is not a song of nicking the equestrian favourites but a turn of phrase to conjure up the depth and difference between generations. It works neatly and Reservoir begins with as charming a start as possible. These trickles of quality from Reservoir are as warm as can be expected. They light up a room, truly. Brown Horse has crafted a record for every mood – just this one is a late Friday night, lounging around the place and waiting for something to click into place. Reservoir, the title track of this wonderful collection of calming country tones, has this special something to it. Mood and mood alone guide albums to their resting place, and the tonally complete renditions occurring on this one are a pleasure to listen to. Reservoir may be the closest listeners get to the peak of country music. Shoot Back cements this, an effective, perfect song with charming flickers of Van Morrison and The Band. 

Brown Horse can be best cornered for their flow. Delicate, impressive and booming at all the right moments, a confident approach at the best of times. All good albums can pause you in your tracks, only the great ones can absorb your attention and preclude notetaking. Everlasting and Bloodstain are remarkable moments – each as intoxicating and interesting as the last. Key to the infatuation many may have with Brown Horse is, quite simply, they know their stuff. An ode to the little-known Paul Gilley on a track named after the I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry co-writer is wonderfully in step with his style. The swaying qualities of Silver Bullet are thoroughly worth sticking around for too.  

Through all the loud crashes and instrumental rises, there is a tender intimacy to Brown Horse and their first effort – a fully fleshed-out piece. Reservoir is a force to be reckoned with, a powerhouse which provides clear proof country is alive, well and can still hang with the best. Outtakes should be more than enough proof of that, its steely guitar and extra instrumentals flickering away gives it the warm pub appeal of all those heady nights in dive bars and sticky-floored pubs. It lingers on as a real slice of life, a pure and soulful example of musical intimacies which may feel lost when listening to the studio scrub of efforts elsewhere. Rekindle the flames of intimate performances with one of the sharpest, smartest and most tender offerings in some time.