Gus Englehorn – ‘The Hornbook’ album review: magnificent storytelling with a dark underbelly
THE SKINNY: The illustration that adorns the cover of The Hornbook, the second album by Gus Englehorn, paints a vibrant picture of a forest at night, where a knight bleeds to death from a stab wound while a black-cloaked individual – death – toasts a marshmallow on the fire. It’s this atmosphere of darkness contrasted with humour that defines the record, a cohesive collection of lyrically heavy forays into melodic psych and folk-infused indie that is sometimes playfully experimental and other times more reflective and melancholic.
The album collects influences from across the world, with Englehorn incorporating lyrical references to ‘Scarborough Fair’ in ‘Thyme’ while presumably nodding to Bob Dylan’s ‘Absolutely Sweet Marie’ on the aptly-titled ‘Sweet Marie’. The musician’s clear love of folk music can be heard throughout the record, although his take on the genre seems much more rooted in the anti-folk movement. Englehorn’s voice is sometimes imperfect and childlike as he experiments with pitch and melody, reflected in his storytelling approach to songwriting, with many of his words falling into the kinds of patterns you’d expect from a nursery rhyme.
Yet, Englehorn’s childlike rhymes (“Rode a mighty steed/ Golden brown/ Upon his head he worn a crown”) are often juxtaposed with visceral and brutal language. In the same song, ‘Roderick of the Vale’, Englehorn documents the subject’s death, which ends with the words, “His eyes were eaten by a ren.” Sometimes, his words are a little more abstract, such as on opener ‘One-Eyed Jack’, where Englehorn sings, “He was not cup, he was not straw, he was not chair, he was the door/ What do you mean he was the door?”
Otherwise, it often feels as though he is rattling off a stream of consciousness, too, inviting us into a world where there is love and fun to be found alongside violence and death. It’s an honest record, complete with evocative storytelling and a steady balance between gentle, tender moments and explosive, raucous bursts of instrumentation. While Englehorn’s vocals might be slightly challenging at times for some listeners – and some songs are considerably more memorable than others – The Hornbook is an enjoyable record that will certainly garner Englehorn some dedicated fans.
For fans of: Using about 20 different words to describe what genre the album you’re listening to falls into (“it’s like psych, but also anti-folk, and it’s also quite garage rock adjacent, but also draws from ‘90s indie, and you can hear traces of Foxygen, and…”)
A concluding comment from the Grim Reaper: “Fancy a marshmallow?”
The Hornbook track by track:
Release Date: January 31st | Producer: Gus Englehorn, Mark Lawson | Label: Secret City Records
‘One Eyed Jack Pt. I and II (The Interrogation/The Other Side)’: The album starts off rather uneasily, with a repetitive beat and brooding guitars driving the song forward, as though someone is coming up behind you. It picks up pace as the song continues, while Englehorn sings as though he’s a cowboy questioning us, making for an unnerving yet simultaneously electrifying atmosphere. [4.5]
‘Thyme’: There is a real retro essence to the guitars on this one, while Englehorn plays with his vocal delivery, sometimes using a robotic quality, while other moments are more melodic. [3.5/5]
‘The Itch’: “I am trying to relax/ A deep breath I’m under water/ There is a jewel sitting on the river bed,” Englehorn sings as gorgeous guitars float around us as though we’re sinking down into the water with him. It’s a really dreamy number that feels like a breath of pleasant nostalgia. [4/5]
‘Roderick of the Vale’: Englehorn condenses a whole story into five minutes, depicting the tale of a man whose attempts to say goodbye to a lover result in his death. The way Englehorn sings about death is incredibly poetic, especially the lines “And there you’ll see/ A tree that has no leaves/ Into this tree you’ll climb/ And from its great heights/ You will see the other side.” [3.5/5]
‘Metal Detector’: As the heaviest song on the album, ‘Metal Detector’ is full of raw garage-rock power that echoes across the soundscape while Englehorn’s voice moves between impassioned and restrained. His wordplay here is playful, too: “I was stealing the sting of the seal serpentine/ I was sipping to sip.” [4/5]
‘The Whirlwind’s Speaking’: The instrumentals roll in here, acting as a fitting backdrop for Englehorn’s declaration of “Listen, listen, the whirlwind’s speaking.” Layered and packed with intense penmanship – “Will I wander off the cliff and fall far to the rocks below?” – the song is one of the album’s most memorable. [4/5]
‘Sweet Marie’: Memory, love, and melancholia meet here, with Englehorn reflecting on a person who has “been erased.” The song is relatively upbeat as the singer laments his lost love, although he then twists the narrative into something darker, telling us that “I pushed you there into the pool.” [3.5/5]
‘A Song With Arms and Legs’: Beginning with a moodier and more reflective sentiment than other songs on the album, the penultimate track builds into a fuller atmosphere, although Englehorn’s lyrics remain rather abstract. [3.5/5]
‘One-Eyed Jack Pt. III (Epilogue)’: Closing the album with a track that parallels the opener, the satisfying cohesiveness of The Hornbook is emphasised by this last slice of dark storytelling. [3.5/5]
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