NONHORSE / HORSE HEAD “Horse Split” (JK Tapes)

Two totally unrelated musical projects thrown together on a C30-something because they both have “horse” in their band name (in case you didn’t infer that from the title) on this new tape/CDR label. Gabriel Lucas’ Non-Horse outing here is a recording of a pretty good live set, lots of smearily collaged sound sources bleeding into one another…wind tunnels, rain, acoustic guitar plucks, beans-in-a-tin-can, factory clatter, melodica? Typically untraceable and mysterious. The jam dwindles out on a smoky/jazzy vibe, and then Mr. GLC gets on the mic and thanks everybody for coming and says it “was worth the 8 hour bus ride” and mentions he has merch for sale. Hopefully he sold some stuff! Orange County outcasts Horse Head are on the flip, and they hold down their rep as radical unpredictables. Apparently they’ve become a sloppy/outsider boogie band in the interval since their last release? Baffling. Slow, 3-chord basement rock with basic basslines, nasally angsty singing, and messy drums. Oh well. I guess it’s good to have zero clue what a band is going for sometimes. Tape comes in a nice thick white vinyl tape case and is drenched with spray paint and peeling labels.