Desperate Living (album)

Desperate Living
Studio album by Horse the Band
Released	October 6, 2009 [1]
Recorded	March–May 2009 [2]
Genre	Nintendocore, metalcore
Length	54:44
Label	Vagrant
Producer	Noah Shain[2]
Horse the Band chronology
A Natural Death (2007) Desperate Living (2009)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Hearwax	(9.2/10)[3]
Rock Sound	[4]
In Your Speakers	(Favourable)[5]
Drowned In Sound	[6]

Desperate Living is the fifth album by Horse the Band, released October 6, 2009, through Vagrant Records.

Overview

The album sees a departure from the band's reliance on the Nintendocore sound which they helped to pioneer with their demos and first two full-length albums. The bass guitar's role in the music (as well as in the band itself) has been diminished slightly, with the lower registers mainly serving as counters for the guitar and keyboard melodies instead of the rhythm section role of music of their style. The album is also unique in comparison with the band's previous work in that there is considerably more synthesized bass, orchestration and drum programming featured.

Those who purchased the album through iTunes received remixes by the members of Horse the Band's favorite artists and members of the band itself under different identities.^[7]

The album reached #125 at Top Heatseekers chart.^[8]

Jamie Stewart of the band Xiu Xiu appears on Horse the Band's fourth album as per request from Erik Engstrom in an AIM message he sent to Stewart.

Stewart commented on his role in the recording process, stating, "Horse the band has asked me to try to help them make a dying robot, an exploding keyboard, a dream laugh and a melted, drastic flute of redemption. Lucky for you and for me they have the Lucky for you and for me they have the wit and creativity to turn these things into music."^[9]

Also featured on the album is classical pianist Valentina Lisitsa on the song "Rape Escape". She is featured playing "a fragment of the cadenza of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, the emotional climax and most technically demanding section of one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano". According to Engstrom, "She plays like she is possessed by the song, like she is channeling the composer and understanding their intentions and feelings better than they understood them when they were writing the song. She's the most talented player of any instrument I have ever seen, no contest. She'll play with such force sometimes that she jolts a grand piano half a foot across the stage. She just totally gets it. Anyway, I went to see her at a solo recital and asked if she would do a guest performance on our album. For some reason she said yes. ... Only a handful of pianists in the world could play the piece, and she embarasses every single one of them. She recorded it on a restored Bosendorfer in her home studio and broke a string while recording it."^[10]

Track listing

1. "Cloudwalker" - 4:50
2. "Desperate Living" - 4:07
3. "The Failure of All Things" - 4:51
4. "Horse the Song" - 4:24 (featuring K-SLAX)
5. "Science Police" - 3:50
6. "Shapeshift" - 5:11 (featuring Jamie Stewart)
7. "Between the Trees" - 3:55
8. "Golden Mummy Golden Bird" - 4:46
9. "Lord Gold Wand of Unyielding" - 2:32 (featuring His Purple Majesty [David Isen] and Lord Gold [Erik Engstrom])
10. "Big Business" - 4:56
11. "Rape Escape" - 7:12 (featuring Valentina Lisitsa)
12. "Arrive" - 4:10

iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

1. "Rape Escape Vs. Dmndays" - 3:23
2. "Lord Gold Wand of Unyielding vs. Dan Sena" - 4:46
3. "The Failure of All Things vs. Airborne Drumz" - 4:22
4. "Arrive vs. Burgermover" - 4:04
5. "Horse the Song Vs. Arottenbit (8 Bit Cover)" - 4:03
6. "Arrive vs. :( (Love Silent Things Remix)" - 3:26
7. "The Failure of All Things vs. DJ Danny Maverick" - 3:43
8. "Science Police Vs. Lazrtag" - 4:12
9. "Golden Mummy Golden Bird vs. Skrillex" - 6:00
10. "Caps" - 1:06

Personnel

Horse the Band

• Nathan Winneke – lead vocals
• David Isen – guitar, vocals
• Erik Engstrom – synthesizer, LSDJ, vocals
• Daniel Pouliot - drums

Guest musicians

• Brian Grover (of Thriller) - bass guitar
• Valentina Lisitsa - piano
• Jamie Stewart -vocals, sound design
• Jon Karel - guest drums on "Desperate Living"
• Vernon Chatman- Conundrumming
• Gary LaChance- vocals
• Sarah Hamilton- vocals
• Mike Benitez- vocals
• Haley Lansdel- vocals

References

1. ^ HORSE the Band Album Info. Absolutepunk.net
2. ^ ^{a b} "Horse the Band Begin Recording." Absolutepunk.net
3. ^ Hearwax review
4. ^ Rock Sound review
5. ^ In Your Speakers review
6. ^ Drowned In Sound review
7. ^ "iTunes bonus tracks." Roadrunner Records
8. ^ HORSE the band albuns chart performance at allmusic
9. ^ Cannon, Sean (30 March 2009). "HORSE The Band in the Studio Now, Overseas in May". Buzz Grinder. http://www.buzzgrinder.com/2009/horse-the-band-in-the-studio-now-overseas-in-may/. Retrieved 22 March 2010. 
10. ^ Horse The Band debuts "Rape Escape"