One of the unexpected personal benefits of deciding to start reviewing records is that it has forced me to confront my own stylistic calcification. I had no idea how small I had let my musical world become after years of single-minded focus on my own music, my own need to be heard.
When I decided to take a listen to “Antlers” by Charlie Horn, I nearly dismissed it fifteen seconds in. It didn’t have an immediate snarl or punch. Was this just yet another dude in his bedroom with ProTools pretending he could write songs? Then the vocal began, and my finger, hovering over the mouse, so ready to click the “X” and move on, oblivious to what lay ahead, paused.
Well, I’ll be damned. What greeted me on the other side of the gates of my preconceivity – I know I just made up a word, let’s just move on – was the performance, in earned confidence, of a well-crafted song. It didn’t need to snarl or grab me by the ears from second one. The easy way the drums mingled with the guitars, swirling in a murmur, was enough. The strength of a vocal that does the job of making me want to understand what is being said is more than enough. If I couldn’t get past fifteen seconds, that was my problem. Charlie plays like he knows if he can get me to second twenty, I’m his. He ain’t wrong.
Take a listen to “Antlers” below.
Written by stevegrawks
