Vol. 1

Review by Darren Gawle

'New country' may be the music you love to hate, but face it -- it's good times music for brainless evenings down at the ol' watering hole. Steel Horse know this, and, believe it or not, Vol. 1 is a lot better than most other local independent product; certainly, it's miles ahead of bands like Nickelback or Scrubbengretchen, and a lot more fun.

The boys in Steel Horse don't leave a lot of room for misinterpretation. Our urban cowboy protagonist in "Tall Dark and Country" is just out to sip a few whiskeys, make love to the ladies and ramble on down the road in the morning. That's it. For God's sake, all you have to do is drink beer and dance to this stuff -- we're not talking about art here.

Maybe it's the penultimate difference between Canadians and Americans that Steel Horse don't come across like some lowest common denominator white trash schlock-fest, either. And no matter how much you hate this stuff, if you can get through this CD without your toes tapping at some point, check your pulse.

So I may not ever end up wanting to listen to this disc again; but at least the time I spent listening to it wasn't a total waste, and for small mercies I'll be thankful.

Artist Contact Info: 14429 - 105A Ave, #B, Surrey, B.C., V3R 1S2, Canada, aloof@direct.ca