British artist Tor Maries returns with her third indie-postpunk LP, and perhaps her best yet – as ever strong of voice and sharp of lyric, but this time with powerful, new, dynamic pop-rock sound – her first using a live band – and with running theme of churning love-song emotions on a metaphorical broken fairground. While Maries writes, sings, and plays piano, synths and guitars, she’s joined this time by the power and pace of Liam Chapman on drums, and Many Clarke on bass, whose riff lines thrum with a particularly strong pulse. The Metalhorse in question is one ride on the imaginary fairground: “Won't you climb up on my metal horse?/ That’s the way it goes 'round/ Where they tear you up and back and forth/ That's the way it goes down … There’s the memory that doesn't last / There's the conversation gone too fast/ Here's the courage that you never knew/ Yeah, my metal horse is talking to you … And if you want to jump out / Out the merry go round / There's a way to go about it / Of not tumbling down.” Meanwhile on the strong Dark Horse Friend she’s joined by former Stranglers frontman Hugh Cornwall on backing vocals. The Test is another standout, a catchy, euphoric gallop of drums, thrumming bass and piano chords, with another fairground attraction metaphor: “Hall of mirrors/ I do the wall of death/ If they can see us / That's the test … And I get fearless / When it pays my rent / To know that I love you.” There’s also a theme of losing/taking control on this wild ride theme, captured also on Plans: “Let's break out the circus while we can / Yeah, while free thinking is still in our hands.” Tor also experiments with slower styles on the almost gospel-like Life’s Unfair, and and the acoustic, country-ish Strange Gift, but returns to a more familiar musical territory on closer Moon Explodes, which begins with the striking opening line “Ten years after the fair you're still standing there”, and is gallows humour inspiration from armageddon- and conspiracy theory. An enjoyable, emotive ride. Out on Invada Records.
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