Slowhandclap - 'Horses In Transit'
About the unworkable schism between the irrepressible human spirit of exploration and joy, and the crushing unavoidability of late stage capitalism, Horses In Transit is about a position many of us find ourselves in - That endless trudge of life, from house to house, job to job, drowning in debt and responsibility, and never being able to come up for air.
This is slowhandclap’s world - An uncompromising reality which they bite and snarl at with every opportunity. Horses In Transit is an unequivocally brilliant and well-structured song, though fraught with anxiety and displaced urgency from the off. But that’s a desired effect, as it is designed, on a molecular level, to leave you uneasy and stressed.
Even the title serves as a colourful metaphor. The idea of something as lithe and graceful as a horse, often a symbol for unfettered freedom, being closed into a box and transported, like a pallet of tomatoes or some other basic stock, is chilling to comprehend in context. With lines like “They came to take what I had/But I came open handed” and “What’s keeping me alive is also killing me” singer Sam Bullock offers stark observances as he expresses the anguish of feeling trapped.
The plodding, offbeat rhythm guitar in the opening section is just monstrous - Not only does it underline slowhandclap’s progressive sensibilities, but it takes the entire composition off-kilter. It is wrong - In all the right ways. You can’t really nod your head to this song, such is the intricate arrangement. It’s just enough that you can hang on and follow it through to the finale. In this way, slowhandclap dizzy and disorientate the listening experience, making for a heavy and challenging four minutes. Their noisy, almost angular brand of guitar styles covers several bases, from fresh indie rock right through to full-on post-punk. The band shift through gears with ease, channelling the composition and providing a solid basis for the words and vocals to take centre stage.
The main thing that jarrs about this song is that it never resolves. The stop-start dynamic in the first half is dissipated by a 2nd movement which ups the tempo to another plane. The bassline comes into focus, and the energy rises, but an actual drop never comes, the song just finishes. And that is the heart of the genius of Horses In Transit - It’s a musical representation of the lyrical content. We are all travelling, we are often moving forward, but to no destination. Very few of us get the fairytale ending, the polished denouement - Most of us just keep on lurching to the next stage.
On Horses In Transit, slowhandclap not only write about that constant balancing act of modern life, they express it musically. The entire song is one giant metaphor, and it is delivered impeccably. Sometimes art is so cutting, so piquant, because it is so on the nose. This is one of those times - Horses In Transit is an artistic and political statement before it is a song, it digs deep at the heart of a major dysfunction in society and says “If not now - when?”
Words by Adam Davidson
