by Jeff Roalson (@jeffroalson)
On March 13, 2020, Baltimore quartet Horse Lords released their fourth studio album The Common Task. With hypnotic pulses that tug and push forward with determination, this record makes the idea of surrendering to the music feel less like a choice and more like the hand of a seasoned guide pulling you into a new world. The album was critically acclaimed and well-received by fans alike, however, not all the stars aligned. The eve of the official release, only hours before they were to take the stage at hometown venue Ottobar, the band called off not only the release show but the entire tour which was set to begin the following day. With the pandemic sweeping across North America, there wasn’t much of a choice. Now, a year later, I checked in with band members Andrew Bernstein (AB) and Max Eilbacher (ME) to get their own perspective on the record and the past twelve months.
Post-Trash: Without the tours and traditional album cycle, what's helped you find direction and creative energy when the path forward has been anything but clear?
Andrew Bernstein: One festival that we were set to play in 2020, TUSK Festival based in the UK, went ahead as a virtual festival in October with their entire lineup, and even expanded their programming to take advantage of the virtual format. That gave us a good concrete reason to get together and rehearse. After that was recorded in late August, we kept up weekly rehearsals to work on new music.
I love performing and sharing music with people, but the most satisfying part of touring is getting into a groove as a band and reaching new places with the material. That said, it’s usually hard for us to find any time on tour to actually work on new music. If anything, touring and album cycles get in the way of creative energy going towards writing new music. We’ve only been able to be so productive this past year because all of our energy wasn’t tied up touring.
As disappointing as it was having all of our tours for 2020 cancelled, I have really enjoyed the rare opportunity of not having any deadlines or anything to prepare for, to be able to more aimlessly explore new ideas and work on craft. I hope to maintain this more inwardly focused energy after things pick up again.
Max Eilbacher: As an artist operating in a late capitalist hellscape, quarantine has allowed me to reflect on the ways my practice is strung along by antiquated modes of business. The necessity to constantly produce, present, and be branding is near inescapable for a working artist. Covid-19 has laid ruin to or morphed these aspects of functioning as an artist. Some of these changes are for the better, some for the worse. With movement in either direction, the most coherent path forward has been the reminder that a strong artistic practice is the only unvarying feature of creative work. The collapse of concerts, deadlines and touring has made it even more clear to me that the time and privilege of a personal studio practice is the greatest source of good and direction in my life.
Post-Trash: The term "psychedelic" carries a lot of baggage, both in and outside of music. To some, it conjures up images of tie-dye wearing slackers of generations passed. To others, it's akin to the transcendent and spiritual aspects of life. Part of the brilliance of The Common Task is its ability to confidently lean into psychedelia while remaining razor sharp and purposeful. Frenzied urgency and meditative poise play off each other like the left and right brain reconciling primal instincts. Rather than culling the listener into a comfortable haze, these songs are more likely to result in a quickening of the senses.
There’s a lot of good music in the world but not even all good music feels particularly necessary. This album feels like it willed itself into existence. Can you shed some light on the process and sense of urgency that drove you to create this album?
ME: The album exists as a result of hard work. We willed it into existence through writing, playing, talking, and listening. An urgency to create was present, our last “proper” album was released in 2016. I feel that beyond that there was no sense of direct sense of urgency. Side A of the record was created very much like other pieces on our past records. Seeds of ideas came into practice in the form of patterns, riffs, or concepts. We shared these intentions, played around with them for many hours, presented them at different stages live and then recorded them. However, the B side of the record “Integral Accident” was an entirely new process for us. We were commissioned by the Peabody Conservatory’s “Now Hear This” ensemble to write a piece around the theme of revolution. With the theme, we felt revolution presents a rupture with the status quo; a new society is suddenly attainable. And yet, there must also be continuity with the past; there’s no escaping history. The fragments are reformed, maybe in the direction of progress, maybe not. But the contradictions inherent to the present are also the seed of a possible better future. To represent these concepts in a musical form we composed a piece using Lindenmayer Systems (L Systems):
“A mathematical language in which an initial string of characters is matched against rules which are evaluated repeatedly. The results of each evaluation becomes the basis for the next iteration of geometry, giving the illusion of growth.”
The rhythm, pitch and duration of the acoustic and electronic sounds are determined by these rules, as well as the overall form. The individual parts are then implemented at the player’s own discretion, taking control away from the composer and distributing it across the larger ensemble. The individual musician thus acts as a dynamic vector within the piece; a network of individual actors make the piece undergo constant transformation while being constrained by an underlying logic.
AB: All of our albums are documents of our ongoing practice together. We write, we play, we share ideas with each other, we build on each other’s ideas, we record, we edit. Repeat ad infinitum. Making music is just part of how I exist in the world and engage in dialogue with different ideas. Concepts come through in the music in some concrete and some more oblique and unconscious ways. I think everyone can probably relate to some kind of compulsion to create, even if it is just writing a tweet. I don’t tweet a lot, but I make music. Certainly not every tweet is necessary, and I don’t know if my music is necessary for anyone besides me, but I’m glad that it feels that way to you!
Post-Trash: Good art will naturally pique listeners' imaginations; revealing intimations of a picture while still guarding varying degrees of mystery. It's not hard to see why people bond over lyrical music. It directs them down specific paths of shared experience and is often judged by the relatability of the stories it tells. Without the familiarity of a human voice guiding the listener along, it can sometimes feel like walking through ones' house in the dark. You stretch out your arms and with each tentative step forward, desperately lean on your other senses which help navigate your way around the furniture and through the hallways.
As an instrumental group, how do you approach mystery and storytelling through your music?
AB: I approach the music less as a story about experience and more as a direct experience in itself. The band works a lot with polyrhythm, just intonation harmonies, and melodic canons, and all of those formal elements contain mystery within them. We try to be transparent with how the music is made, but even when you know what you’re hearing, there’s mystery in the aural experience. Sound contains multitudes!
ME: I think the experience of sound as music is so subjective that we as individuals and a group would never want to constrict other’s experience by placing a narrative frame around our work. Mystery is great! What is this sound and why is it here? The format and instrumentation give enough of an account to the listener that we feel storytelling is not something we aim for with our work. Hopefully the listener can go on their own journey or escape the linear structure of time all together.
Post-Trash: Angular and precise yet graceful and composed, The Common Task is a pleasantly jolting exploration of self-discovery. Pulling from centuries old music traditions and techniques, Horse Lords have produced a truly brilliant musical companion to the drones and palpitations of the human heart.
With vaccines now helping shine some light at the end of the tunnel, what can we expect from you next? Are you at peace with the life cycle of this album or has this musical hibernation only increased your desire to get back on the road and start back where you left off?
AB: We’re currently working on new music and new recordings. I’m not sure exactly when cycles end, but we’ve always been happy to play, cycle or no. When concerts can happen again, I’m looking forward to playing the music from The Common Task. I don’t think we can ever just pick up where we left off, musically or otherwise, given everything that has happened, but I hope to be part of whatever comes after this.
ME: It feels incredibly weird to release an album and play one show. I hope in 2021 or 2022 to release an album and present the work. Circumstances are changing how we write and present as a group and I look forward to seeing what shape that takes. I do not know I will ever be at peace with 2020 and its effect on our activities but there is no other choice. I am at peace with the fact I was safe and healthy during covid. I never ceased in having the desire to get back on the road. Once things are safe we hopefully will!