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Reviews

La Horsa Bianca — Somatic Schematic
(Bandcamp Weisskalt WK-001, 2018, DL)

La Horsa Bianca — Oneiric Numeric
(Bandcamp Weisskalt WK-002, 2019, DL)

La Horsa Bianca — Diluvian Beat
(Bandcamp Weisskalt WK, 2020, DL)

La Horsa Bianca — Polemosophy
(Bandcamp Weisskalt WK, 2024, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-05-04

Somatic Schematic Cover artOneiric Numeric Cover artDiluvian Beat Cover artPolemosophy Cover art

La Horsa Bianca is a reminder that genres are artificial constructs. When listening to their music, those who are inclined to put music into categories are likely to go crazy, or think they’re listening to a various artists compilation. At some points they seem like a psychedelic rock band, but at other times they could be called prog rock, but then they slip into weird avant territory or trippy space rock, and it’s back to the drawing board. Come on, you compulsives, give up! Relax and soak in the fascinating weirdness that is La Horsa Bianca. The band was formed in Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2016 by a group of musicians from diverse backgrounds. Eugene Manko (bass, keyboards, woodwinds, percussion, vocals), Olga Ksendzovska (keyboards, brass, vocals), Kirill Gonchar (guitar, trumpet), Andrii Bragin (guitar), and Igor Avdeyev (drums, percussion) have experience in rock, cabaret, early music, klezmer, academic avantgarde, experimental electronics, and classical music, and they bring all of it to bear in the band’s music. Their first album, Somatic Schematic, came out in 2018, featuring five tracks totalling just under 33 minutes. “Парашут” (“Parachute”) starts things off with a sweeping melody that sounds like it could have come from a 70s movie, with touches of psychedelic guitar blended with jazzy sax and flute, at times bringing to mind both Camel and Nektar, if that makes any sense. After five minutes, the vocals come in, with lyrics in Ukrainian. “Fantastic, Mr. Hopkins!” has a rollicking triplet rhythm and fuzzy lead guitar that brings to mind a space rock band jamming on a movie theme, though Ksendzovska’s synths venture into territory that’s unexpected, containing hints of both classical and avant-garde. “Три чорні хвилі” (“Three Black Waves”) has some twangy surf-rock guitar, though the vocal sections have a folky sound. In the other tracks, we find more space rock jamming a little like something Steve Hillage might have done in the 70s, though with keyboards favoring a sound like a cross between a vintage string synth and a combo organ. There’s also a vague Canterbury tinge to the music that gives it a light and playful sound.

Oneiric Numeric came out in 2019, with five more tracks (37 minutes this time). Once again I’m at a loss to provide meaningful references even though the music is not really avant-garde. There are hints of krautrock (both Amon Düül II and instrumental Grobschnitt) and Canterbury (Gong, Khan and maybe Kultivator or Samla Mammas Manna) with the catchy melodies of surf rock. One thing you don’t hear is any real dissonance or darkness — no traces of King Crimson or metal. The more I listen to it, the more I think of Radio Gnome era Gong, though stripped of the pixies and goofiness, and with keyboards leaning towards organ over synthesizers. It’s a bit more coherent than the debut, and is a fine album.

Next out was Diluvian Beat in 2020, a 42-minute album of four instrumental tracks bookended by two vocal pieces, both of which feature lyrics taken from the poetry of prominent Ukrainian poets (Bohdan-Ihor Antonych and Yuriy Izdryk). “A Missage” spotlights the flute prominently, bringing in a little flavor of Scandinavian symphonic progressive, and “The Mouse Principle” is an energetic piece with overdriven organ, shifting time signatures, and a great wah-wah guitar solo. There are some extended instrumental sections that take on a hint of Pink Floyd — think of the instrumental passages from Wish You Were Here or Animals. One section of “It’s Not But Damn” gets especially strange, with the rhythm section grooving away while guitars and / or keyboards go really crazy with some very bizarre effects. The band has kept improving their craft, more successfully integrating their disparate influences into a sound all their own.

Eugene Manko composed the material for the group’s most recent album in late 2022 far from home, as he had left Kharkiv in the face of invasion. The other members added their contributions from home studios, never having the opportunity to rehearse the pieces together, with the drums being recorded last. As Manko writes:

The word “Polemosophy” in this context is to be understood as “knowledge of war”; a set of personal experiences. The other track names, adopted from existing Greek, mostly medical, terminology, are metaphors for the mental states that served as starting points for the compositions.

The mood is certainly darker on these compositions, as befits the circumstances of its creation, but there are moments of lightness as well. The music seems more introspective, less prone to the cheerful surf-rock themes and bouncy rhythms of the earlier albums. The tracks are also, on average, much shorter than before. On a musical level, what the album lacks in lighthearted fun it makes up in serious mood-building. There’s a sense of gravitas about the pieces that befits the circumstances of its creation, not to mention the circumstances of the band members’ lives. Manko’s backing tracks include symphonic sounds that add to the scope and range of tonality. The final track is called “Isorropia” (Greek for “balance”), and it’s a disjointed and jarring piece where solemn hymn-like sections are repeated interrupted by loud electric guitars and drums, backwards guitar drifts across the stereo spectrum, and ominous noises burble in the background; piano wanders in search of a key, and a free-form drum solo leads into a brief coda with a mournful xaphoon melody. Polemosophy reveals La Horsa Bianca as a serious creative force with a style all their own, and we can only hope that the situation in their homeland will change to provide them with the opportunity to make more music together.

Filed under: New releases, 2018 releases, 2019 releases, 2020 releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): La Horsa Bianca

More info
http://weisskaltrecords.bandcamp.com/album/polemosophy

 

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