Pulled Apart by Horses @ Leeds Festival 2008
By Sam Saunders
Oh my. I hadn't seen Pulled Apart by Horses before today, but I had heard a thing or two and I was expecting a riot-like performance. Saturday was well-advanced when they started and I had already seen more indie try-hards than I was comfortable with. My craving for something a bit more brainless, a bit more visceral, a bit more intense and a lot more involved had been growing impatiently. The number of photographers and video cameras in the security zone suggested that the evil media were on the hunt for something spectacular too. Rumours from the day before in Reading had been at work and sensation (of some kind) was looking likely.
The sensation, of course, was in the full-throttled, screaming music. "Meat Balloon" unleashes Tom Hudson's screams at their apoplectic best. "Awesome!! Radical!" (or Rachel!! as it says in my notes). Shrill and meaningless, but deeply felt and oddly affecting. This live version is even more ferocious than the messed up rock and roll fun indicated, but not yet fully represented, in the compilations and MySpace tracks we've had the chance to hear.
"High Five, Swan Dive" and "I Punched a Lion In the Mouth" are other favourites, recognisable and catchy despite their fragmentary, ballistic quality and despite the twitching, running around and frenzied falling over that the band sustain throughout. The danger of coming right off the rails is confronted and accepted, and rails are (predictably) come right off of. Emotionally the crowd are joining in, bruises and all. We all have a great time and cheer like mad things. The physical hyperactivity is a secret extra ingredient, like a shot of sugar in the kerosene. Ripped out guitar leads, singing while crowd surfing and saying "thank you" politely are all part of the heroic madness and the great fun.
