Alt-rockers mewithoutYou are back with their album Pale Horses and it’s a nice little ambient piece that looks set to do very well for the four-piece.
Now on their sixth album, mewithoutYou know what works and what doesn’t, so subsequently have crafted quite the formidible listen – it’s a good, memorable piece for all the right reasons – but on the other hand it would have been nice for it to have a little more spice and variety. Pale Horses sounds rather safe and feels like mewithoutYou haven’t taken any risks this time round. There’s no shame in this, but it does feel a little disappointing that they didn’t have a bit more adventure.
Despite this, Pale Horses is still a great album and there’s some real high points, including the emotive Magic Paper Lanterns, which has soft, stripped-back instrumentation and vocals, and the energetic Mexican War Streets, featuring passionate harsh vocals and the instrumentation packs a real punch!
As a whole, Pale Horses is a nice little listen and although it may not be the most exciting album out there, it’s a good and chilled release for the most part that will serve nicely as a summery soundtrack for the coming months.
7/10
