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Album Review: Pulled Apart by Horses – Tough Love (Deluxe Edition)

V.E.N.O.M! V.E.N.O.M!

Since the original version of the ‘Tough Love’ album was released months ago, I’ve struggled to find a better example of good and proper rock ‘n’ roll then that song. Pulled Apart by Horses on record are chaotically brilliant, making every time you listen to the album a treat.

So when I saw that they were releasing a new deluxe album, it was never going to be a case of flogging a dead horse. It’s fresh, engaging, exciting and full of the bounce of the wall sense of electricity that fuels PABH’s music. Tom Hudson, James Brown, Lee Vincent and Robert Lee, from the moment that they released ‘Meat Balloon’ and the utterly ridiculous ‘I Punched a Lion in the Throat’, there was always an opportunity for these guys to really make something special.

From the slowed down screeches of album opener ‘Blue Jeans’, to the skewed and wonky time signatures of screechfest ‘Grave Dohl’, this is immediately apparent. ‘Grave Dohl’ bursts out of the mark with a thudding bass line moving at breakneck speed, with noodling providing the backing to the incessant screaming of “that’s what they all say / that’s what they all say!” by Hudson. But there’s a definite sense of method the madness, to use the cliché, during seventh track ‘Night of the Living Dead’. You could almost be in Romero’s classic film of the same name, or even be the arcade style shooter sharing the name. The unpredictability you get from PABH is the beauty of them; you never know what’s going to come next. The last album I listened to with that many changes of pace was Gorillaz’s ‘Dare’, and seeing as this is a rock band without Mr. Albarn’s name, I think the Leeds rockers have represented themselves well.

‘PWR’ is a stomping beast of a track, with the lyrics “I’m not lazy / I’m just tired” resonating in the voice boxes of any tweenager across the world. Going back to ‘Night of the Living Dead’, there is an element of horror, which is a constant theme throughout the record. During ‘Shake of the Curse’, Hudson wails, “you won’t take me back to the dark place / you won’t take me back to the dark place”. It’s hardly Rob Zombie, but one thing PABH have is an ability to spread a bit of doom and gloom. If you’re looking for uplifting, then you will definitely have to go elsewhere for your 60 minutes of sunshine.
As far as length goes as well, you won’t be finding many 5-minute air grabbers, with PABH preferring the more in your face 2- to 3-minute belters. The deluxe edition of ‘Tough Love’, then, adds a lot to the equation for Pulled Apart by Horses and gives them a platform for a little more remuneration, but more importantly sets them apart from the Rolo Tomassis of the world who are just going to fade away into the breaches of 21st century screech rock.

These boys are going to be around for a while, get ready for a headache. (A good one.)

7.5/10

The original and deluxe editions of ‘Tough Love’ by Pulled Apart by Horses are available now from Transgressive.