Being Dead are a Texas-based trio of best friends Falcon Bitch, Gumball, and Ricky Moto who release their debut album, `When Horses Would Run` this month. They share that the band are here to create worlds where we can soak in stories of carefree shoplifters, wayward cowboys, and the final moments of a lonely Buffalo on the range all played out against a merging sound of surf rock, freak pop and frantic punk.
We are led into the album with `The Great American Picnic` which opens with a sound that appears to be surf rock before veering off into a more sixties West Coast trippy offering with some charming harmonies and hooks sliced through. There`s a quiet before the storm scenario with `Last Living Buffalo` which begins with gentle harmonies then a rolling drum and a mid-paced tone which draws you in with a catch phrase of “Onward Buffalo Alone “, which will have you singing along. It takes a darker turn towards the end with screams of you killed them and crashing instruments before briefly resuming its former pace and fading out.
`Muriel’s Big Day Off` tells of Muriel and her best friend Friedrick, who spend their day doing exactly what they want: stomping around town, drinking tea, and shoplifting. Inspired by Falcon Bitch and Gumball’s acid trip in which after drinking wine on their porch and “having a really nice time with a tree,” they returned home, enamoured with the patterns of their fingers on the guitar, rather than the way the chords actually sounded. It`s a fairly stop start eclectic piece that heads off on a jazzy trip about two thirds of the way through and ends in a hand clappy conclusion. There`s a short a capella spoken / sung nigh on gospel like composition with `God vs Bible`, which is oddly compelling.
`Come On` races along with a surf rock sensibility and appears to suggest living your life to the full. I thought `Daydream` was just that a delightfully dreamlike sonata expressing the simple joys of spending time with someone who means a lot to you and just enjoying what life has to offer.
`Treeland` is a little more forceful musically with lyrics that were pretty surreal. Title track `When Horses Would Run` is reflective and may be a metaphor for how life has changed. It begins quite starkly with a repeated rhythmic key pulse echo and vocals before additional instruments round out this sentimental submission.
`We Are Being Dead` is possibly the band`s theme song and is a catchy earworm despite its varied makeup. I found `Holy Team` fairly mesmerising and floated along with a kind of spiritual intensity but as seems to be Being Dead`s trademark it takes another path towards the end just when you`re getting comfortable.
`Misery Lane` is what it says on the tin an ironical downbeat, downcast kind of reverie about normal suburban life. We have another bleakish offering in `Livin Easy` which seems to hint at immortality and the pain endured if you managed to achieve it.
The album closes with `Oklahoma Nova Scotia` and it’s a typically peculiar piece to end on, stripped back, cinematic with a slight countryfied feel all melded in.
Being Dead are certainly unique and the lyrics at times are almost beyond interpretation but in that I found a certain beauty. Their music is a little bizarre and diverse but they aren`t trying to sound like anybody else. There`s hints towards religion and possibly searching for meaning in life but still managing to find beauty in the most unlikely places. I read that Being Dead say they don’t take themselves too seriously––there is joy to be found everywhere and this is certainly true with ` When Horses Would Run` invest in a copy and discover for yourself.
Rating 8 / 10
REVIEW: BEING DEAD – WHEN HORSES WOULD RUN (2023)
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