If you’re not in the know or don’t follow too closely, there’s a lot happening in The Rupert Selection camp lately. Mostly not good. Vocalist/Guitarist Reilly Somach was recently diagnosed with Stage IV Primary Lung Cancer and is going through the steps to get better. But it’s a process (You can read more and help support here). Out of that dark cloud, however, there comes a light and a community coming together to help their own in a way they know best: Music. Last week saw a sold out benefit show for Somach at Off Cabot that featured TRS as well as a reunion from Bad Larry’s and an appearance by Spinworld and this week ends with a Warehouse XI event on August 28th with an even killerer (Not a word) lineup with The Freqs, Neverless.am, Mallcops and Merry Brigade with tix still available here (What?!?!) And if that wasn’t enough, fans get another performance from The Rupert Selection (Rounded out by Sam Bouvé on Bass/Additional Vox and Drummer Peter W. Bartash) as the show is also serving as a record release for their new full-length, Music For Horses.
Yes, kids. You read that right! Beyond EVERYTHING else happening in Somach’s life right now, the band buckled down and finished a record initially intended to be released sooner rather than later… just not this soon. The last LP from The Rupert Selection, Crumbs For The Sun, is still in regular rotation around here. Sometimes it’s a song, sometimes a riff, sometimes a lyric… it’s just a record that seems to be ever present and, for us, what makes an album/body of work truly great is when it sticks with you long after it’s gone. That said, to say that anticipation (AND expectations) ’round these parts was high regarding the record that would become Music For Horses is an understatement.
So how is it???
To be frank, it’s a legacy record. And we’re saying that in a vacuum that all is well right now. It just is. Regardless of the situation happening currently, or even if circumstances pushed Music For Horses to be more than initially intended, the fact of the matter is that if years from now you’re talking up great albums from the scene or in general that will stick with you then we can’t imagine a world where this album from The Rupert Selection isn’t a part of that conversation. It’s weird, it’s wild, it’s wondrous. A spacey, jam band sort of affair almost but also not with the heavier side of Primus (Think their set when they open for Slayer, which they’ve done…) or the more expansive side of Phish or Dave Matthews Band. Without being pretentious.
“HPPD” plays around with all of that. And it’s fucking beefy, hitting just over fourteen minutes to boot! It’s such an opening body of music that we will barely do it justice trying to convey what you’ll hear when you get your chance. Epic is a good word to start for this first piece of the Music For Horses puzzle (Following intro “Hello Horses” which is the first of many interludes and soundscapes across the massive outing) so we’ll go with that. If you were a fan before then this is definitely for you. If you’ve never listened to The Rupert Selection before then even more so do we believe this is for you as it’s an introductory album as much as it is a lasting one.
First single “Riddance”, by comparison, seems so wee. But it’s not! It’s very much that special segue song bridging the gap between Crumbs… and MFH but bigger. And faster. And hornier?!?! Let us explain! There’s horns! So, horn-ier. Get it? Anyway! “Riddance” Rawks with a presence which seems to be the theme of MFH with each song really hitting home and leaving a mark. “Devil’s Dance” utilizes those horns once again and effortlessly meshes it with TRS’s inherent modern Alt Rawk aesthetic across this groovy number that also manages to tap into peak Grunge and Alternative where bands like Mother Love Bone and Soundgarden were honing their sound and just throwing whatever they’d like into their music to create something fresh and new.
“Bears” just oozes cool from the start with Bartash’s subtle tapping on the hi-hat before brief blasts of horns expand this big, bad ass of a Rawk record even more while “Wolf Blitzer” reminds us of Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros. But not in the Perry Farrell sense. Ahem, bear with us for a moment as we explain? Think Dave Navarro’s fierce playing but put into the more laid back nature of PFP so if “Three Days” and “Tahitian Moon” met in a bar and went home together. With a breakdown that’s way more mellow. Still with us? Great! Because there’s still the eight minute “Scorching Scorpion Phoenix Bag: It’s Over” to get to! Speaking of, what a song! We initially rattled off “Don Caballero!” upon first listen but the track is so much more than that with an immediate presence (There’s that word again!) and lingering riffage from Somach that just owns. Elsewhere, there’s tempo and tonal changes galore with the horn sections accenting the core trio on a track that has Mudvayne/Tool levels of modern Prog here with Bouvé’s Bass playing especially gnarly but then goes off on a Genesis tangent (Think Invisible Touch and “Domino”) before hitting the “Heavy” button on its’ way out for a ferocious finale.
Music For Horses is out now and you can get your copy here or at the stream below (Vinyl/physical pre-orders go up on the next Bandcamp Friday, September 4th). To support The Rupert Selection more, there’s the aforementioned show at Warehouse XI on August 28th (Go help sell this one out here) with Neverless.am, The Freqs Mallcops and Merry Brigade or you can help more directly with Somach’s medical bills by donating here. And if you just wanna stay in the loop? Check out the socials for The Rupert Selection by heading here or here.