Album Review: Electric Horse - Venomous

There's sometimes nothing more soul satisfying than to come across a true rock album that doesn't shy away from a bit of indulgent, ballsy guitar soloing. When you think you've found it, it's more often than not a load of self-indulgent wailing at the album's expense. It's one reason why Venomous, by Gold Coast hard-rockers Electric Horse, is a triumph. With Sunk Loto, Lump and King Mungi in their pedigree, the 11-track debut from the quintet is a solid effort with just the odd sticky wicket throwing up some cons to 49 minutes of mostly pros.

Opener Rasputin eases the ears into a thickly atmospheric synth build that ebbs then flows under the crisp and melodic repeated guitar motif, but it's when frontman Jason Brown croons in that the penny drops. Before you know it we're in a territory that skirts somewhere around mid-'90s hard and alt-rock; it's easy to hear their penchant for a bit of Faith No More, for instance. But that's where the lads are happy to stay, and it translates. There are infectiously neat punk quips in the single-worthy Light it Up, cascading guitar wails in Down From the Mountain and some chugging riffs that stomp throughout the furious Shape Shifters. There's the odd lazy track here and there; Crossroads struggles to engage on much more than a mindless level, and Final Breath takes the pub-rock road with basic repeated riffs and an unchallenging rhythm. 

It's heavy, it harks back to things we've heard before, but Venomous houses some solid production and a natural flair for structure that makes this so much more than a two-dimensional heavy release.