This quintet are graduates of the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma and have the same manager as state-mates The Flaming Lips.
'Fear In Bliss' was conceived at their Oklahoma HQ but was recorded in LA with producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver). It's the band's debut full length album following on from their six track EP Grow Deep, Grow Wild.
Singer/guitarist Cameron Neal says his struggles with depression are reflected in the album's theme of “finding yourself and what you believe in, and finding the comfort in acknowledging fear".
His biggest terror, or at least his most abiding preoccupation, appears to be death. Channelling the existential voices in his head, he faces the grim reaper with a mixture of fatalism, black humour and defiance. The chiming guitars and strident band sound means that his anxieties are expressed in an upbeat, even anthemic manner
In Devil, the album's catchiest tune, he sings "It's getting better every day now but we all are gonna die" while on Already Dead he makes the questionable assertion that "when you're born you're dead when you die you're saved".
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Other tracks explore the nature of good versus evil (Human Geographer)
or the wisdom of disregarding what other people may say or think (Let Go).
With elements of Alt. Country mixed into the Indie Rock mix, it's a purposeful, occasionally rousing set of intelligent songs. Quite possibly a grower.
Horse Thief website
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