MEDICINE HORSE – Medicine Horse (CD)

MEDICINE HORSE – Medicine Horse – (CD) – 4-panel eco-wallet

Horton Records 076 – Released 09.08.2023

Medicine Horse is the convergence of slow southern bluesy drawl with a storm of anger, joy, heart break and hope that can only come out of the Indian Territory that is Tulsa, Oklahoma. Formed in the autumn of the year the world fell apart, 2020, Medicine Horse began as a way to navigate uncertainty and mitigate existential panic within the Williams household, with the help of drummer Garrett Heck. A sound took shape, and players were assembled to bring it to life.

Nico Williams, a citizen of Cherokee Nation, moves between jazz-tinged vocal melodies and emotionally charged howls, weaving lyrical storytelling of historical account, folklore, and Indigenous futurism around the layers of sludgy-yet-energetic harmony formed in the clash of techniques between rhythm guitarist Kyle Williams (Otoe-Missouria, Ponca and Ioway Nations) and lead guitarist Travis Rowe. Rowe draws deeply from his country roots, transforming those immovable hooks into devastatingly heavy riffs before they ignite into towering solos. A rhythm section steeped in the slow waters of their respective homes of Monroe and New Orleans Louisiana, drummer Garrett Heck and bassist Chris West anchor the sound with elements of doom in one moment, and the frenetic energy of thrash in the next. Immediate influences of Southern doom and sludge like Crowbar, Acid Bath and Down are easy to discern, while hints of grunge, post-punk, and classic Southern blues rock simmer beneath the surface. Burn weed, cedar, and sage…plug in, turn up, and amplify your frontal lobe.

Recommended if you like: Crowbar, Acid Bath, Windhand, Down, Trouble

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