Everything but the Everything bustles back into your speakers in full force on “Horse Bit,” the newest single from A & B Sides Vol. 3 and one of the project’s most intoxicating rides yet. The San Francisco-based indie rock venture is steered by the gritty rock n’ roll bassist, songwriter, and producer Izzy the Gent, who has consistently championed collaboration as a central element of the band’s makeup. That gets a moment here as frequent collaborator Sophia Prise takes center stage, pushing the vocal performance to electrifying, emotionally charged brilliance.
The track’s already pulsing with a sense of movement from the get-go, the familiar glowing determination, the vintage rock aesthetic throughout. And yet, there’s a steely-eyed sense of modernity here, an urgent attitude that can’t help but drive everything past what you’d expect. Izzy’s hitting the bass and drums hold everything steady at the track’s heart-throbbing rhythm, at the pulsing center, a lushly textured groove that propels outward, letting Sophia rise above.
But it’s this balance, the steady musicianship, the brightness and vibrancy of the performances that make this more than a typical song or collaboration. It’s a conversation. An overabundance of adrenaline. A creative tug-of-war that feels fleshed out and real. It’s Everything but the Everything in a nutshell, indie rock thinking of its origins, but never satisfied with just that.
Tags
Indie rock