An Horse. An Horse. An Horse. No matter how many times you say it, the Australian indie rock duo’s name just won’t sound quite right.
What does sound right, though, is the group’s music, which has managed to lift it out of obscurity in Brisbane and onto the indie pop world stage.
Tomorrow, An Horse rides into the 9:30 Club in Washington, just one stop on a long tour away from home.
“Our first ever tour was in the states,” said singer and guitarist Kate Cooper. “The shows in Australia are pretty small and there are only really five places you play shows. But crowd-wise, everything depends – we have great shows everywhere. Sometimes at home I feel a bit more nervous, but then in Denver I know [the crowd] is going to like it. There’s definitely a difference, but both are amazing.”
An Horse was discovered by another indie rock duo, Tegan and Sara, who took the young band out of Australia and brought them along on a tour of the U.S. Now with an EP, two studio albums and appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman under its belt, An Horse has cultivated a strong following of its own.
Needless to say, the band’s current status is a huge leap from Cooper and drummer Damon Cox’s humble beginnings as clerks in their local record store in Brisbane.
“We both worked in this record store, and we were both in other bands,” Cooper said. “We were both bored as well, so we decided to start a band. We thought about getting someone else and then we thought ‘no.'”
Practicing after hours in the store, An Horse evolved from Cooper’s snippets of song ideas into full-fledged indie rock anthems grounded firmly in the restrictions of a two-piece guitar and drums combo.
Meanwhile, Cooper’s smart, somewhat world-weary lyrics tend to draw from personal experiences and observations filtered through what she jokingly described as her “dark mind.” With such raw songwriting it’s no surprise the band members are both astonished at how far they’ve come and perpetually excited to craft a better act.
“We didn’t even realize we were in a band for that first album [Rearrange Beds],” Cooper said. “Then we got signed by a record label and we had to make another record. We went in thinking ‘we have to make a record’ and produced [Walls], which came out really good. On the next record we’ll definitely take that to the next level.”
An Horse will perform at 9:30 Club tomorrow. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $22.
berman@umdbk.com
