Modern Air

An Horse is an Australian indie rock band, originally from Brisbane, Australia. The band is a duo, composed of Kate Cooper on guitar/vocals and Damon Cox on drums/backing vocals.

To date, An Horse has released three full-length albums: '' Rearrange Beds'' (2009), ''Walls'' (2011), and ''Modern Air'' (2019).

History

Becoming An Horse

Kate Cooper and Damon Cox met while working at an independent record store called Skinny's in Brisbane, Australia. They began making music together in 2007, and set up a PA in the store, where they would rehearse after-hours and organise shows in the Brisbane area.

2007–2008: Not Really Scared

The band's first recording was a 5 song EP, ''Not Really Scared'', which was released by local Brisbane label Valve. Kate handed a rough mix version on CD to Tegan and Sara at the Canadian duo's in-store performance at Skinny's, and not long after received an invite for An Horse to open their ''Out of Hibernation'' US tour in April 2008. Off the back of that tour, they were the first band to be signed to New York label Mom + Pop Music by Michael Goldstone. They returned to the US in October 2008 for tours with Bishop Allen and Jessica Lea Mayfield, while continuing to tour at home in Australia with Death Cab For Cutie, The New Pornographers and more.

2009–2010: ''Rearrange Beds''

Their debut album, ''Rearrange Beds'', was released on 17 March 2009 on the label Mom + Pop. It was recorded in Australia with Australian Recording Industry Association, ARIA award-winning Australian producer Magoo, and was mixed in Vancouver by Howard Redekopp. The album received favourable reviews from Pitchfork, Spin and Rolling Stone. Upon its release they appeared on '' The Late Show with David Letterman'' and continued with extensive US touring with acts including The Appleseed Cast, Silversun Pickups, Cage the Elephant, Wintersleep and Telekinesis. They also opened again for Tegan and Sara on Australian, UK and Canadian tours. 2010 touring included shows with Kaki King, Dashboard Confessional and The Big Pink. A 2010 Australian tour with Against Me! was scheduled, but was later cancelled. Cooper and Cox worked on writing their second album throughout 2010, and recording took place that summer in Vancouver with Howard Redekopp producing. 2010 also saw the band tour Germany, Austria and Switzerland extensively as ''Rearrange Beds'' saw a release on the Grand Hotel van Cleef label. Festival appearances included Gurten Festival in Bern, Switzerland and MELT! in Germany. A remix EP called ''Beds Rearranged'' was released on 23 March 2010. The EP includes remixes of songs from ''Rearrange Beds'' by artists such as RAC and Gerard Smith from TV on the Radio.

2011–2012: ''Walls''

An Horse released their second album ''Walls'' on 26 April 2011, again through Mom + Pop. It debuted at number 17 on the Billboard charts, Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart The opening-song, ''Dressed Sharply'', was selected as iTunes Single of the Week, and was also praised by NPR. Alternative Press magazine, Pitchfork and Spin also posted positive reviews. Touring for ''Walls'' included festival slots at Lollapalooza, Bamboozle
ACL Festival
Osheaga, Southside, Hurricane
Rolling Stone Weekender
Falls Festival, Southbound, SXSW
Sled Island
and more. In addition to headline shows in 2011/2012 An Horse toured in the US with Manchester Orchestra, Kevin Devine, Nada Surf, Alkaline Trio and in Canada with Brand New and Cursive. Two headline tours of Australia also took place.

2013–2017: Hiatus and other projects

The band did not play live for several years after coming off tour in support of ''Walls''. The duo reconvened for one show on 29 December 2015 at Crowbar in Brisbane. There were hints of working on new music during 2017. During the band's hiatus, Cooper released an eponymous solo album via Mom + Pop in June 2015. Meanwhile, Cox toured as a drummer for Kevin Devine and occasionally Tancred, as well as an auxiliary percussionist and drum tech for Brand New up to their 2017 tour.

2018: Return and "Get Out Somehow"

On 1 March 2018 the band announced they were going to start playing again, beginning with three shows in Canada with Camp Cope. Later, on 5 March, they announced they would be touring the US with The Front Bottoms. On 16 May, the band released the single ''Get Out Somehow'', which marked their first new music since 2011.

2019: ''Rearrange Beds'' reissue and ''Modern Air''

On 23 January 2019, the band announced a new album was to be released in May on Lame-O Records, with a vinyl repressing of ''Rearrange Beds'' preceding it in late January. On 18 March, they revealed the album was called ''Modern Air'' with a release date of 3 May. Mike Sapone produced and mixed the album. The album's release was preceded by two further singles: "This is a Song" on 20 March, and "Ship of Fools" on 12 April. In May 2019 the band toured North America with longtime friends Camp Cope.

Television appearances

Their song "Postcards" was used in a TV ad for the Mercedes-Benz CLC-Class in 2008.

On 12 March 2009, An Horse made their first ever television appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, performing the song "Camp Out".

Discography

*''Not Really Scared'' EP (2008)
*'' Rearrange Beds'' LP (Mom + Pop Music/Poison City Records) (2009; reissued 2019)
*''Beds Rearranged Remix EP'' (Mom + Pop) (2010)
*'' Walls'' LP (Mom + Pop) (2011)
*''Get Out Somehow'' single (2018)
*''Modern Air'' LP (Lame-O Records/Poison City) (2019)

References

External links

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Australian indie pop groups
Shoegazing musical groups
Musical groups established in 2007
2007 establishments in Australia
Musical groups from Brisbane
Grand Hotel van Cleef Records artists
Mom + Pop Music artists
Lame-O Records artists