On which, they prove the debut was no fluke
With their brilliant “Southernality” album from a couple of years ago, Nashville, Tennessee (where else?) fourpiece A Thousand Horses bid for their space in the already crowded too-rock-for-country-too-country-for rock market.
Even if that debate should have been rendered over years ago by the fact that artists like Whiskey Myers, Blackberry Smoke and Eric Church just carried on making magnificent music and pushing the boundaries, nonetheless ATB stepped into the fray with the swagger of The Stones and the cool of the Black Crowes, allied to a love for the blue-collar honky tonk (which isn’t a bad way to announce yourself, really).
Well, now they are back, with “Bridges”. Aptly named, because it has the feel of something they put out to, well, bridge the gap, to a full new album. Half the tracks are new studio with the rest mostly made up of live stuff from an acoustic session in London last year, which is all good, but is the type of thing that used to be on singles before the internet ruined record buying.
The first six, though, are superb. “Blaze Of Something” is one from the more country end of their spectrum, but is one for the small town dreamers who want something more. “Burn Like Willie” is even better, and comes in with a nose for trouble. The type of thing that The Cadillac Three were so good at on “Tennessee Mojo” it is not far from the perfect three-minute pop song.
The first single from the record “Preachin’ To The Choir” is slower, more reflective maybe, but hits its nail squarely on the head when singer Michael Hobby says “I ain’t telling nothing new to nobody here”. And if that might suggest that there isn’t anything too original about ATH then that is kinda the point too. They are playing the music they want to, and they are extremely good at it.
“One Man Army” has the words “massive radio hit” written all over it and comes on like the sort of thing Jon Bon Jovi would do on one of his solo records while trying to prove how country he was. The difference here is A Thousand Horses sound absolutely authentic, because this way is the only way they know.
The title track is an almost gospel thing, but it simultaneously sounds completely unapologetic, and “Weekends In A Small Town” is a celebration of youth that’s been lost – and comes in with absolutely no regrets.
The seven acoustic tracks are tremendous fun too, the harmonica at the start of “Travellin’ Man” is gleefully dirty, the keyboard led “Sunday Morning” is gorgeous, “First Time” is such a good song that they could play it any way they wanted and it would rule, but here, it belongs right in the middle of “Exile On Main Street”.
“Bridges” ends with the first big hit the band had, “Smoke” played live in Nashville – it was number one and with good cause. If that was the first big hit, then it won’t be the last. Those looking for the next big thing in country rock probably haven’t got to look far past A Thousand Horses. Their next album could be a masterpiece.
Rating 8/10
