A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, (the 80’s) there existed an old computer game by the name of ‘Horace Goes Skiing‘. It quickly achieved cult status, thanks to the joys of sending a small blue sprite down a virtual ski slope. Fast-forward to Great Yarmouth in 1991 and a second Horace Goes Skiing came into existence, presumably influenced by the aforementioned game. The band created quite a stir when they released their ‘Domestic Violence’ seven inch in 1997, with many heralding them as the great hopes of the UK punk scene. Now, at long last, Horace Goes Skiing have released their debut album, ‘Yeah Right Sure’, which contains ten new songs, as well as the four from the ‘Domestic Violence’ EP.
The album kicks off with ‘5.65 keep breathing’, which proves to be a good indication of what is to come. Horace Goes Skiing play a brand of melodic pop punk, that inventively also sees them using more than three chords. The opening song showcases this musical recipe, but is a long way from being one of the albums strongest numbers. It is only on the third track, the superbly monikered ‘Up yours hitchcock’ that we begin to realise just why this band have been hyped so much in the past. It is a short and snappy track that is heavier than much of the album, and has ‘attitude’ stamped all over it. ‘Yum, yum, yum’ follows in a similar, albeit longer, fashion. The best of the bands abilities are saved for ‘International man of anger’, a song that really does define the trademark sound of the group.
However, despite the obvious musical talents of the band, there are too many occasions during which the songs are let down by either over complicating or by poor vocals, especially during the final three new tracks. The last four songs on the album are from the previously released EP, and still sound as good today, especially the cover of Cat Stevens’ ‘Father & son’. However, the biggest disappointment is that on songs like ‘You cheeky so and so’ the band sound bland and generic. In 1997, the band were doing something that many other UK acts didn’t. Conversely, during their time away from recording many bands have followed their sound and bettered it.
Don’t get me wrong, ‘Yeah Right Sure’ isn’t a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, it just isn’t as good as many would have expected. Horace Goes Skiiing certainly have the talent to succeed, they just don’t quite have a set of songs to do them justice yet. Here’s hoping the band don’t leave such a gap before their next release, and that they produce the album I’m sure that they’re capable of.
Mark