Horseback Piedmont Apocrypha

I was born to lose; I wont have this form forever. So begins Horsebacks fifth full-length studio record, Piedmont Apocrypha, with an incantation that could very well serve as the shapeshifting bands raison dtre. Since before 2007, Horseback has served as a musical vehicle for multi-instrumentalist Jenks Miller (also of Mount Moriah and various solo outfits), chronicling his prolific, exuberant, and at times altogether whimsical investigation of heavy music(s) and their relationship with Western mysticism. Thus far, Horseback has embodied (and shed) many forms, from the serene, fuzzed-out, near neo classical bliss of Impale Golden Horn, to the caustic, poisoned noisescapes of Forbidden Planet, to the crushing psych-rock (black metal? you tell us!) found on The Invisible Mountain and Half Blood. While genre tags are difficult with shape-shifting bands like Horseback, some common threads are readily apparent across each of these records: regardless of the style, theres some otherworldly, hypnotic quality in the music, conjured by ritualistic repetition and a layered depth in the instrumental arrangements. And each record demonstrates an unmistakable internal logic, its own a self-contained universe of sound. Some have referred to Horseback records as riddles to be solved: once you crack the code, that sonic universe is yours to explore. Musically, Piedmont Apocrypha gestures to the pastoral hues of Impale Golden Horn (released on vinyl by Three Lobed for the first time in 2012), but theres a structured quality to the tracks here that fits in line with Horsebacks rock records. Make no mistake: this is a heavy record, but in the way Comus First Utterance is heavy, or in the way Amon Dls Phallus Dei is heavy. Its that patient, smoke-clogged, ritualistic vibe, solemn with the noticeable presence of layered organ and harmonium tones (perhaps a subtle nod to Terry Riley or even Olivier Messiaen). Indeed, for all its far-reaching strangeness, Piedmont Apocrypha may be the mos