Visitation Rites

Sightings: Horsebladder, “Winter, Worse Winter” There’s something immediately foreboding about the music of Northampton, MA’s Elaine Kahn — aka Horsebladder. Of course, a project consisting of one woman, a keyboard, and “sometimes a drum,” all but screams of foreboding minimalism — but on “Winter, Worse Winter” it’s more than just that. Kahn, like similar artist Julia Holter, has a knack for sounding simultaneously gorgeous and terrifying.  Sparse vocals and stuttering keys meld around the wispy echos of Kahn’s voice and the occasional brute-force drum beats in blunt-yet-mysterious ways. Hearing Kahn sing amidst the mostly silent racket feels almost like hearing the distant shout of someone urging you to seek shelter before an impeding blizzard — warm and inviting, yet stern and serious. The song reminds me of the nerd-famous saying of my favorite characters from George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire
novels. Winter is Coming, so hole up and prepare yourselves, because it won’t be pretty. Although, with Horsebladder maybe winter doesn’t have to be so bad after all.
Words: Marc Picciolo

Thanks so much to Henning at No Fear of Pop for this kind writeup

Horsebladder: “Fountains”.


Northampton, Massachusetts’ Elaine Kahn sent over a very charming mail to tell me about her “group” named Horsebladder, “consisting of myself, my keyboard, and sometimes a drum”. What at first faintly appeared like just another nice yet dilettante bedroom project instantly took my breath away after hearing the very first few bars of “Pioneer”, the gloomy, menacing opener of Kahn’s forthcoming 12 inch Not I’ll Not. Three tracks into the EP, the unsettling intimacy of “Fountains” ultimately spellbound me, with its slow-burning rhythm and tenuous synth progression, calmly meandering over the course of nearly six minutes.

The sound of Elaine Kahn’s work – who’s already released a cassette, called Nicole, last year on Night-People – is mostly eerie and dark, as is the general atmosphere, yet in a less palpable way compared to, say, (early) Zola Jesus or Chelsea Wolfe, to take rather obvious examples of contemporary female artists that slightly follow the same path as Kahn. The means to achieve the enchanting, deeply absorbing mood are stunningly simple and distinctly lo-fi, sparse patterns of analog synth, a restrained drum part and layered vocalization, all blurred and hidden behind a constant hiss of distortion and clipping, all of which adds up to a wonderfully unique, occasionally disturbing trip to the unacknowledged melancholy of your soul.

Horsebladder, “Nicole” tape

October 18, 2011

By Dave Miller

Horsebladder, which to me is one crazy name for an artist, is the moniker for a lady by the name of Elaine.  As odd as that moniker is, the sounds though a little different aren’t really too weird.  It’s really more like a handful of fantastical whimsy that gets blown in your face.  The first track, “Losers,” sounds like some kind of capricious zoo that mystically prances through the line of sight of your mind’s eye.  Then the second track, “Years and Years,” continues with a super ethereal dreamlike vibe with soft female vocals, drips that actually sound like some kind of quirky chimes, and other melody that sounds like a glass harmonica or something.  The third is “Who Doesn’t Lie” and is an a cappella sing-songy cruise through that same voice only in a soothing oceanic way.  Then the other side has the other half of this six track tape.  The fourth, “Surprise Disease,” continues with more singing, which I’m finding permeates most of her tracks.  It has subtle drones that I think consist of organ instrumentation, but perhaps just a keyboard.  Either way, an awesome meditative repetition to it.  The seventh track is “I’m So Big,” and continues in the vein of its predecessor, only with more of a ghostly vibe.  It has some crazy bell/rattle that gives it a nautical edge, like a dark night on the water with swarming mermaids beckoning to the boat.  The last, “Go Away,” has a pretty cool soft synth texture to it with a few layers that are a gentle salve to the soul.  All I can say is that this is a solid release that is unlike anything I expected.  My only complaint is its brevity.  A nice listen before bed.  It’s better than sleeping pills or alcohol to put you in the right state.  Dream away thanks to Elaine and her fairy-like music to soothe any savage beast—even this guy.

now available at horsebladder.bandcamp.com

you can also buy the vinyl LP from here

three you tube videos from philly show:

one

two

three

three you tube videos from a philly show

tour was great.  thanks so much to everyone who came out to a show. 

not i'll not is for sale, twittering machines described the album as "Simple keyboard-based nursery-rhyme melodies overlap with each other until they get downright creepy and Elaine adds the cherry on top with her dreamy nightmare vocals."

in other news I will be giving two readings in the near future, both at flying object.  The first will be on october 21st in honor of Ben Este's new chapbook The Strings of Walnetto Arrangements, the second will be a celebration of the next issue of SUPERMACHINE which i have new work in.