The music on Horse Lords’ Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive! presents a sound that is both impossibly detailed and eminently human. This album features twelve assembled pieces that are layered, interwoven, and complex in both tone and rhythm, creating moiré-like patterns of interaction that engage both mind and body with an inescapable groove.

Artistic Context and Evolution

Horse Lords, founded in Baltimore in 2010, evolved from the group Teeth Mountain. The core ensemble began as a trio featuring guitarist Owen Gardner, bassist Max Eilbacher, and drummer Sam Haberman, later adding alto saxophonist Andrew Bernstein. While emerging from a fertile noise and experimental rock scene, their approach across six albums and collaborations has proven more omnivorous than typical instrumental electric rock might suggest.

Collaborative Process and Instrumentation

For this release, the core quartet is augmented by bass clarinetist Madison Greenstone and trombonist Weston Olencki. Notably, this outing marks the first appearance of vocals for Horse Lords, courtesy of Nina Guo and Evelyn Saylor. The creation of Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive! navigated geographic hurdles, as the four core members have lived in different cities since 2021. Despite this, the band leverages sixteen years of shared musical language, with tracking sessions occurring remotely: Gardner, Eilbacher, and Bernstein met in Berlin for tracking, while Haberman assembled drum parts in Baltimore.

Key Album Characteristics

• Features twelve complex, interwoven musical pieces.
• Explores heightened states of materiality and immateriality through personal order and experience.
• Includes guest contributions from bass clarinetist Madison Greenstone and trombonist Weston Olencki.
• Marks the first Horse Lords release to feature vocal performances (Nina Guo and Evelyn Saylor).
• The band's shared language and trust transcended the geographic separation of members during recording.

This CD offers fans of experimental and complex rock music an immersive experience built on intricate rhythmic and tonal structures.