by Al Crisafulli (@Sugarblastmusic)
One of the painfully few silver linings of the lockdown was the formation of Rider/Horse, a pairing of Kingston, NY musicians Cory Plump (Spray Paint, Expensive Shit) and Chris Turco (Trans Am, Ultraam), whose chugging, electro-noise debut Select Trials (ever/never) was one of the finest albums of 2021. Adding multi-instrumentalist Zoots Houston on pedal steel, the band returns with a more dense, varied and fully-formed LP, Feed ‘Em Salt, just in time to upset the year-end lists of many a music writer.
Ten tracks of thunderous, pummeling rhythms laced with anxious, effects-laden guitar, Feed ‘Em Salt feels far more like a serious band effort than a pandemic project. Exploring similar harmonic ground as Chicago’s FACS or Auckland’s Wax Chattels, Rider/Horse is decidedly more aggressive, Turco’s drumming up front, driving each song with an almost manic pulse. Plump’s dissonant, undulating guitar tones add texture while creating tension; occasional synth lines weaving in and out. Houston adds ambience, sometimes with an incongruous drone, sometimes, as in the almost tribal noise of “Tierra Wool,” with more melodic, almost ethereal notes that dance above the track.
The album announces itself immediately with “Florida Gasoline,” a post-industrial dirge all at once discordant and harmonious, straining to keep from bursting until its abrupt end crashes into the jarring, ESG-meets-Chrome post-punk of “Great Innings.” Constant conflict between the instruments creates anxiety: the instrumental “Theme” juxtaposes bombastic drums with distorted but melodic pedal steel, while “Sacred M” pits a twisted disco beat against a harsh, detuned progression, Plump shouting “I can’t remember things I don’t care about!” above the din. “Rotting Profits” sounds downright traditional by comparison, a driving, uptempo alt-rock track with an undercurrent of noise.
Building on the themes of their debut, Feed ‘Em Salt is tense and uneasy dystopian dance music, wildly inventive and relentlessly artistic. Whereas Select Trials was a response to pandemic boredom, Feed ‘Em Salt is a rebellion against it; an invitation to convene and dance within the chaos.