It is now October, the tenth month of 2025, a year fraught with anxiety, tumult, and numerous threats to a collective identity. The temperatures are finally beginning to drop in sunny Colorado, and the trees are changing colors. Seasons change, and I know the drill. Time passes by…
Those first two sentences are my own, and I swiped the two that followed from Horse Radish—namely, from the song “Time Passes By” from their lovely new album, Stimulus Response. Horse Radish is the operative name for a group of five fine folks led by singer-songwriter Melanie Berkowitz and based in Brooklyn, New York. To date, they have one other record released under this name, 2021’s Snake Charmer. No singles, no EPs, just a pair of full-length efforts made with evident love and conviction.
I’ll confess: I have a particular proclivity for bands who adhere to the LP format; the fact that Horse Radish are willing to combine their efforts to make significant statements is among the qualities that initially inspired me to write this review. Imagine my surprise, then, when the contents of Stimulus Response struck me as homely rather than stately, small rather than large. This is a band that derives ambition from the mundane—or is it the other way around? Whether Berkowitz is singing about outer space as a metaphor for wayward daydreams, the vastness of the Yosemite sky, or the loneliness of the inklings of light from a full moon overhead, she conveys an incredible sense of smallness throughout. This is not a smallness of insignificance but rather a smallness of being, an introspection on one’s place within the overwhelming space of the universe. It all comes together with Berkowitz’s singular voice, a lilting, wavering, delightfully idiosyncratic sound with the slightest hint of vibrato, usually on the syllables one wouldn’t expect.
Interpersonal relationships are discussed with the detail of afterthoughts, the songs posing more questions than answers amidst these reflections. Keyboardist Dylan Sandler gets a vocal/songwriting turn in “Long Way Gone” as well, crossing over the record’s inflection point with a ballad steeped in quiet regret. What’s most evident throughout all the offerings is the close-knit nature of this band, illustrated by their organic interplay together. While a handful of styles are sampled, the ensemble generally opts for a country-rock groove, complete with crisp acoustic guitars, biting electric textures, pedal steel sighs, and an in-the-pocket rhythm section.
The simplicity of this record is its strongest attribute and likely the one that will yield the most repeated listens. It has enough variety within its modest scope to keep it inviting to the ears, yet its themes are almost brazenly straightforward. It is personal without being overly revealing, and it is poetic without venturing into abstraction. With Stimulus Response, Horse Radish has managed to create something that is humble yet confident, bold yet unimposing, and hopefully a sign of things to come.
Written by Jacob Simons
