“Some People” finds itself between the wide-open sweep of Americana and art-rock’s appetite for abrasion, with the five-piece itself born from an unexpected collision. “We were all working on separate projects in Paris,” vocalist/guitarist Tom Onezime explains. “Two of those projects collapsed, and the remains and ashes of those projects formed Spanish Horses.” He leads the breakout rock act, also comprising Albert Cocker (guitar), Victor Michee (bass), Cyril Stephan (drums), and Spike Davis-Yuille (keys/harmonica).
The name Spanish Horses comes from a song bearing the same name by Aztec Camera, although the band have no relation to either; they just liked the way it felt. “We tried not to think of the name too much,” says Onezime. “If you think of all the biggest bands in the world, the band names themselves are usually pretty stupid. I mean, The Beatles sound fucking stupid.”
After playing for two years in Paris, they relocated to London to sign a deal with So Young Records (Cardinals, Lime Garden), where Davis-Yuille subsequently joined the band. ”I was taken aback by the amount of bands and the quality,” Stephan shares. ”It pushed us to want to make better music, and it really changed the way that we work.” Onezime adds, ”I think Paris gave us a lot of space to be really shitty, which is essential to becoming great, just making a fool of yourself a million times. We got to do that there, which is amazing.”
“Some People” carries a nostalgic warmth, but its edges are sharpened by the production. “We all have our own musical idols that influence us individually. Writing music together is seeing how much of our influences we allow to shine through the practice space to each other. We thrive in those weird overlaps of taste and styles.” Onezime pauses. “I mean, The Velvet Underground is a massive influence on us,” he laughs.
Onezime originally wrote the lyrics as a slow country ballad before bringing it to the band. Cocker shares, “[Onezime] brought the idea and the structure, and then we were jamming it, and it very quickly changed into this more dancey bit.” “We had three very different iterations,” Davis-Yuille says. The melody is immediate, stubbornly catchy almost, as the arrangement grows more unsettled. Its driving beat carries the track forward with a loose, dance floor energy.
Repetition becomes the song’s momentum rather than a way of holding it in place. “We started to push for something almost LCD Soundsystem-like with big drums and loud noise, the second part of the track was the point of contingency,” says Stephan. “Some People” was written and recorded under tight deadlines set by the label, but this helped it come together in the end. The track balances looseness and control without settling fully into either.“I think the sense of urgency translates well with the almost machinesque drums and the mechanical and rugged feel to it,” Cocker describes.
Building pressure through its repeating drums and mechanical textures, until the arrangement of “Some People” suddenly drops into silence, what follows is softer, almost unexpectedly tender — a small break in the clouds after all that noise. “I felt really insecure about [the bridge],” Onezime admits. Yet the softer section does not resolve everything; it simply lets the song breathe. There is a strange relief in the way the track lets the light in, briefly and without warning.
For Stephan, “When you make music or paintings or anything you tackle, you grapple with whatever it is that you’re making, and at some point, it tells you to fuck off, and you’re gonna leave it there.” Even at its most forceful, “Some People” leaves room for vulnerability.
Spanish Horses’ debut EP, , is out 27 November via So Young Records. As for what happens between now and then? “Join our mailing list,” apparently.