Review: The Horse — The Horse

The Horse
The Horse
Sad Cow Records
Street: 11.14.25
The Horse = caroline + Keaton Henson + Tim Hecker

The Horse is the self-titled debut LP from The Horse, a stunning experimental folk outfit based in London. I found this Bandcamp-exclusive album by chance, stumbling across a short review on Instagram. The video referred to The Horse as being “Black Country, New Road co-signed,” which was all it took to convince me to give the album a listen. I was then treated to an absolute hidden gem that immediately became one of my favorite releases of 2025.

The Horse combines the styles of folk, ambient and chamber music to create a sound that is somehow both comforting and disquieting. One major theme I see throughout this album is time, both musically and lyrically. Each song takes its time as it develops, and they don’t seem to mind sticking around for a while either. The average track length is almost eight minutes, but every minute feels earned. Free-flowing tempos and long pauses are found all over the record. The band often lingers on the ends of phrases for a while before continuing, which clearly highlights moments of tension in the music. The lyrics talk about tender memories — the changing of the seasons and the drawn-out, inevitable processes of nature. All of these elements together feel very sentimental and reflective, inviting the listener to slow down and take it all in.

Acoustic guitar and wistful vocals from Luke Cowan and Owen Kennedy form the main structure of the songs on this album. I actually think The Horse would still be effective if the arrangements included only guitar and vocals; however, the support the rest of the band provides allows the expert songwriting to fully shine. The intricate instrumentation makes every little tinge of emotion even more moving, and this album’s whole is certainly greater than the sum of its parts, of which there are many!

The band boasts a 7-person lineup, as well as six horn players on this album. This large-ensemble approach pays off, allowing for lush arrangements of strings, horns, accordion, pedal steel and other unique instrumental additions. The album notes even have performance credits for spoons and pinecone! As the guitar moves each song forward, the other instruments swell in and out, accented by ambient noise and scattered percussion. The percussion gives the music a quietly chaotic undercurrent, while the ambient noise makes each song sound intimate and vulnerable. Listening to this album feels almost as if I am in the room with the band.

If you’re a fan of ambient music, you’re likely well-acquainted with ambient pioneers like Brian Eno and current artists like Tim Hecker. The Horse seems to take inspiration from these styles, but the band uses its ambient elements as support for folk songwriting rather than as the main attraction. Atmospheric chords and minimalist composition sit in the background of each song, and ambient noise appears all over this album. I can hear fret noises, chairs creaking, instruments squeaking and other room noises. Some instruments, especially the drums, are played to create compelling textures instead of contributing rhythm, harmony or melody. Other sounds used on some of the tracks include wind chimes, spoons clanking and field recordings of natural sounds like crashing waves. Everything in this album seems intentional and thoughtful while also feeling free and spontaneous.

The album’s first track, “Poisson Fish,” serves as an excellent introduction to The Horse’s songwriting. The song leads off with half a minute of droning strings, accordion and anxious cymbal scraping. At first, it sounds a little like a symphony orchestra tuning on stage before a performance. But when a gentle acoustic guitar joins in with sparse, delicate phrases, the drone is reframed as a constant humming that sits underneath changing guitar chords. Additional string parts come in to support the guitar, followed by Cowan’s wistful vocals. Beneath it all, the same droning persists, seeming to grow more dissonant and tense as the piece progresses. The drone takes on a different mood and color with every new chord that plays over it, amplifying the song’s emotional impact. Just before the final chord, the drone disappears, almost unnoticed. “Poisson Fish” ends with an unassuming but satisfying release of almost seven minutes of tension.

The other four tracks on The Horse continue to present gorgeous melodies. The lead instruments take turns with the vocalists as the center of attention. Ambient noise, textural strings and sporadic percussion remain constant factors throughout each song. The lyrics are sensitive and touching, often focusing on the beauty of nature, locations that feel extremely personal to the band, and poetic thoughts about relationships with family and other loved ones. I have a hard time picking a favorite track! Each song has spoken to me in its own way at different times, and there are very few albums from last year that I connect to as much as this one.

I find myself deeply moved every time I listen to The Horse. It makes me reflect on cherished memories of quiet moments with the people I love. There’s something about this music that transports me to specific times and places in my life, sometimes to happy memories and other times to more bitter ones. The ambient noises in “Your Voice” take me to my childhood bedroom in Pennsylvania on dark Sunday evenings when I would listen to my mom playing the piano downstairs. “Broken Door” reminds me of the pain of leaving home and moving across the country for college. These songs feel uplifting but melancholy, relaxing yet unsure. Life is full of contradictions, and to me, The Horse represents that complexity.

If you enjoy this album, I recommend checking out caroline’s first self-titled album, Keaton Henson’s Romantic Works or Ólafur Arnalds’ Living Room Songs. —Jacob Huff

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