An Horse is made up of the tiny Kate Cooper and Damon Cox, who met while working at an independent record store. Bound by their shared love of music, they soon started playing together in 2007 and set up a PA in the store to rehearse after hours. After a lot of rehearsing, they decided to unleash their sound places other than the small store and started the difficult task of gigging.
Kate Cooper, on vocals and guitar and Damon Cox on drums, have a unique and mesmerizing sound. They make melodic hook-ridden pop their own; their songs are energetic, tight and infectious. They do all this and still manage to capture a sense of vulnerability in their lyrics.
Almost unheard of, with a just handful of gigs under their belt, An Horse landed a fantastic opportunity. Tegan and Sara met An Horse while touring in Australia and offered an opening act slot on their 2008 Out Of Hibernation tour across America. And so began a phenomenal year ahead for Kate Cooper and Damon Cox. The band’s popularity sky rocketed and they were given another opening spot for Death Cab for Cutie’s Australian tour in August of last year. And the icing on the cake was having their track, Postcards (off their first EP, Not Really Scared) used in a television commercial for the Mercedes Benz CLC Class.
This year, An Horse have moved over to the US to focus on their music and touring. Their second EP, Rearrange Beds was produced by ARIA award winning producer, Magoo (Midnight Oil, Regurgitator) at Applewood studios in Queensland. The duo made their first television appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman where they performed their hit, Camp Out. This whirlwind success is showing no signs of slowing, with a tour planned with Appleseed Cast later this year.
Completely blown away by Australian duo An Horse is one way to describe how I felt after the band’s show in Chicago last Sunday night. I honestly had no idea that two voices and two instruments could sound so good live! With Kate Cooper showing off some impressive guitar skills and Damon Cox rocking out on his drum kit, I fell in love with my now new favorite band An Horse and their insanely catchy indie pop songs.
The band kicked off their U.S. tour opening for Telekinesis at Schuba’s Tavern starting their set with “Camp Out,” the first song from debut record Rearrange Beds. Near the end of An Horse’s set, Kate Cooper and Damon Cox gave in to the crowd’s requests to play “Postcards,” which was used in a Mercedes-Benz TV ad last year.
I looked up the commercial on YouTube and I have to say, the song was the perfect choice for this car spot. Although the lyrics to “Postcards” do not necessarily relate to the Mercedes-Benz ad’s tagline, the music matches the trendy vibe for sure. If I had the money, I would want to buy that car.
I wish I could have seen An Horse perform with former tourmates Tegan and Sara, as well as Death Cab For Cutie. Those would have been great shows and unfortunately I missed out on them. Make sure you catch Aussie duo An Horse in a city near you on their current U.S. tour. Trust me, one day Kate Cooper and Damon Cox will be playing festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. They are the next big thing, so take a listen and enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Post a Comment