Horsell Common - GoodFrom Afar

Tue 2nd Oct, 2007 in Music Reviews

Horsell Common have been slowly, but surely, building themselves a nice reputation as one of the best up-and-coming rock bands Australia has to offer. With their latest single, Good From Afar, they are going even further to prove exactly why.

It’s hard to pinpoint what their sound is, and quite suitably that’s exactly what the song is all about. “Breakdown popularity contest / now there’s more thought in the name than in the context,” singer Mark Stewart frustratingly growls at all the other bands that dominate the genres his band gets lumped in. It sounds as if they want people to judge them by their music, and not stereotypes or labels.

Horsell Common simply do what they do. Play it hard, play it with style, and most importantly play it with passion. With this it comes as a bit of a disappointment that the extra tracks include a remix (do these things have any real point?), two covers and an acoustic version of Blood and Wine.

Having said that, the extras are worthwhile listens all the same. The covers include Life of Agony’s Weeds and Jimmy Eat World’s A Praise Chorus. Particularly on the latter, Mark steps his voice down a notch for a rendition that stamps Horsell trademarks all over it but retains the integrity of the original.

It’s value for money at $5 a pop, but if you’re after the high impact sounds you’ve come to expect from the Melbourne three-piece then put the fiver towards picking up the album.