Feeble Little Horse fits neatly into the current indie zeitgeist, yet sounds like no other band. Befitting a band that plays indietronic slacker noise, guitars are pumped with crazed pedalboards that emit supreme fuzz and weird, yet otherworldly delay, taken that bit further by digital effects that wobble like synths. Then, there are the actual synths, deconstructed, utilising chopped audio and modulated vocal samples, allowing the Pittsburgh band an alien-like companioning to its otherwise organic, analogue backbone.
Wikipedia lists shoegaze as one of the band’s genres, but I wouldn’t go that far. There’s certainly a wall of sound, but an indecisive wall of sound, occasionally a Loveless-like approach in which everything orbits a noisy rhythm guitar, again indecisive. Indietronica is more the order.
There’s far more centre stage-taking than there is in shoegaze, and while Lydia Slocum’s vocals may be covert, they still take centre stage far more than your typical shoegaze vocal. They display detailed lyricism and impressive melody despite their covertness, snuggly against the delayed glitches and Deerhoof-esque noise riffs of Doorway; the first song from the band’s third album Bitknot.
The album’s sound is a continuation on the unique indietronic slacker noise the band has fielded for its five years, but more-so that of breakthrough album Girl with Fish. The noise is similar; the informal use of effects and synthesisers is similar. Bitknot is a simple pledge to keep a good sound going whilst weaponizing it for the sake of a diss, and then a moment of reflection, and then a diss, and then a moment of reflection.
Lydia Slocum is pretty darn dazzling when she directs her attention towards the ugliness of others, her own ugliness, and the ugliness of whatever character she decides to play. Alongside crazy rhythm/tempo shifts, censorship bleeps, and a 2026 take on ‘non-metal band doing heavy-ass riffing’, Dior disses a normie with taste that exceeds who they are as a person. Hey, I’ve known people that worship Kurt Cobain, then vow to become Kurt Cobain, thus expecting worship, and I approve the tribute.
The lyrics of Shopping are Lydia’s most alluring, overstuffed with ironic jealousy, yearning to look just like somebody else, demanding their fashion. The song is led by a gigantic guitar lead riding in fuzz, tremolo and delay; soaring like the climax of a crescendo, but it’s immediate.
Before the album ends, band saves time for a diss against our capitalist overlords. The words “death, money, tech” repeat over a noisy blowout; a final chance to talk back before we all die in a crush. Lydia even screams; the biggest possible shift from her slacker’s sardonicism.
On Rewind, lovey regrets are confirmed by precious melodies, sung warmly. There is a distinct repetition, a rumination of sorts, stuck to its steadily ethereal sound; unique modulations that sound like keyboards with tonsils, battling it out with analogue guitars and drums.
All the while, the band impressively displays a versatility. Emo guitar lines appear alongside synthy countermelodies on Poison, which impacts despites brevity. But there is definitely a Feeble Little Horse way of doing things, embodied by Upside Down’s modulated everything; voices, vocal samples, synthesisers, everything.
While Rewind’s palette is enchanting, the most distinct example of the Feeble Little Horse way is the weird vocal sampling of Guts; sudden, oddly emotional, yet still gangling like the band’s slacker vibe.
Feeble Little Horse is able to keep this unique sound going despite the departure of original guitarist Ryan Walchonski. The band’s rare musical language is ingrained into each member, showcased brilliantly on Bitknot.
Best tracks – Doorway – Rewind – Guts – Shopping – DMT.
Rating – 8 out of 10
