Pulled Apart By Horses – The Haze

Pulled Apart By Horses’ fourth album does not mess about. It’s taken them three years, a switch of drummer (founder member Lee Vincent jumped ship without any drama back in 2015 but was kind enough to introduce his replacement Tommy Davidson to fans via a Tweet that read, "Their new drummer is gonna kick your dicks in"), and time spent miles away from anywhere, recording in a cottage on a dairy farm in Wales; the aim being to "just go with our guts and fuck everyone else," according to frontman Tom Hudson. But it’s all been worthwhile: The Haze rocks!

From the eponymous opener (imagine Perry Farrell fronting Sabbath), there’s hardly a moment where these guys draw breath. 'We’ve never been here before,' Hudson yells melodically on The Big What If and you hear it like a statement of intent. A dozen songs, the majority of which hardly loiter longer than the three-minute mark, PABH get in, do the business and get out again. This is the sound people with something to prove make and the album is solid, delivering on their early promise and then some.

My Evil Twin has the best guitar-coming-from-leftfield intro since Nirvana's Sliver, on its own making this an essential purchase, but then you also have to factor in the deliciousness of Neighbourhood Witch with it's chorus of 'You're never going to take my soul!' and the rampant, reckless rampage that is the 1m 51s of Brass Castles.

If you’re a fan, rest easy knowing that PABH have done good. The Haze is their best yet. For the rest of you, make a bonfire of your Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro and Bring Me the Horizon records. You’ve got no need for them anymore. PABH are it. Consider your dicks kicked in.

Listen to: The Haze, Neighbourhood Witch, Evil Twin, Dumb Fun