The vinyl release of Horse Lords’ Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive! presents music that feels both impossibly detailed and eminently human. The twelve assembled pieces are layered, interwoven, and tonally and rhythmically complex, creating moiré-like patterns of interaction and tessellation that engage both mind and body with an inescapable groove.

Artistic Context and Evolution

Horse Lords formed in Baltimore in 2010, evolving from the group Teeth Mountain. Initially a trio featuring guitarist Owen Gardner, bassist Max Eilbacher, and drummer Sam Haberman, they soon added alto saxophonist Andrew Bernstein. While emerging from a fertile noise and experimental rock scene that nurtured influential bands like Lungfish and Matmos, their approach across six albums and collaborations has proven more omnivorous than typical instrumental electric rock.

Collaborative Process on This Release

For this outing, the core quartet is augmented by bass clarinetist Madison Greenstone, trombonist Weston Olencki, and, for the first time in Horse Lords' history, vocals from Nina Guo and Evelyn Saylor. Constructing Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive! involved navigating geographic hurdles, as the four core members have lived in different cities since 2021. Despite this, the band’s sixteen years of shared language transcended locale, with Gardner, Eilbacher, and Bernstein meeting in Berlin for tracking sessions while Haberman assembled drum parts remotely in Baltimore.

Key Album Characteristics

• Features twelve layered, interwoven, and rhythmically complex pieces.
• Explores heightened states of both materiality and immateriality through personal order and experience.
• Includes guest contributions from bass clarinetist Madison Greenstone, trombonist Weston Olencki, and vocalists Nina Guo and Evelyn Saylor.
• The recording process emphasized trusting each other’s concepts and visions over repetitive section playing.

This vinyl record offers an essential listening experience for fans of intricate, groove-focused experimental rock.