Horse Vision

The unadorned sentimentality of an outstanding folk-rock ballad is just as present in the music of Swedish duo Horse Vision as the digitally processed, Auto-Tune-soaked melodies of cloud rap. Built around Johan Nilsson and Gabriel von Essen, the project moves effortlessly between immersive sound painting, emo structures and classic rock characteristics – strummed acoustic guitars, irresistible heartbreak choruses, and all.

And yet Horse Vision create a distinctly original form of indie rock: guitars intertwined with samples, Auto-Tune set against handcrafted songwriting, melancholy fused with a playful instinct for experimentation. Some indie listeners may find themselves thinking of artists like Alex G. On their album »Another Life«, this approach comes into especially sharp focus. Everything feels at once familiar and slightly displaced, almost off balance.

You could call it postmodern Americana, or futuristic indie – or simply: modern. This kind of folk songwriting rarely sounds so fresh and unworn. After all, how often do you come across music that speaks just as directly to hyperpop listeners as it does to fans of Elliott Smith?