Three Inch Horses - EP4

 Released: April 11

I think one of the best ways to describe this release would be that it is small album with big feelings. And by small, I don’t just mean in terms of runtime, although it isn’t particularly long either. Rather, I’m referring to the atmosphere of the tracks here. Because, while being lush and ambient, they don’t feel like they are particularly huge in terms of spaciousness. It has a much more close up and intimate feel to it, which is fitting considering that the album itself is about resurfacing of past emotions. And to this point, I feel it greatly. The album starts this theme off on a rather wistful note with “dream, daydream,” one of the more floaty tracks on the album that opens with gentle rain and that generally ambivalent feeling you get when you simply let your mind wander. From there, it sometimes feels like the album grows a bit quieter as it goes on, but it keeps this weird ambivalence throughout even as it dredges through the emotional impacts of the past. 

Pretty much all of the tracks here lean heavily into droning aesthetics. Long and solitary tones waver and wobble over slow arcs throughout the surprisingly shorter than expected track lengths. But even with the more drone qualities, there are moments in which the fog breaks with a bit of field recordings or even some almost indiscernible vocal snippets. But I particularly enjoy the harmonic themes found on “alone, thinking.” It starts out much the same as others here. But a little over halfway through, it comes to this new and slightly melodic themes that rises up slowly and falls down beautifully in steps, like water falling gently down the face of a stepped hill. It’s a rather poignant moment for halfway through this short album.