London-based dream-pop outfit Broken Horses captivate across “The Space Between Us,” the finale on their debut four-track EP. Driven by jangling guitars and lush piano, the track captures doomed romantic yearning through a stark exploration of emotional distance.
The production doesn’t waste any time unveiling its lush splendour. Elegant, jangling guitar layers and vibrantly rich piano craft a dreamy, spell-inducing allure, fondly recalling Beach House’s aesthetic. Steady acoustic strums and introspective singing follow. “No usual sequence of the rituals to pair,” Sampson’s mellow lead voice intones. “No matching records that we couldn’t bear to grow without.” The rejection of shared interests and mapped-out dreams lays bare an unbridgeable emotional distance, ruminating artfully on absence and what-ifs rather than basking in the glow of a love once had.
“The space between us isn’t just in my head,” a heartrending sequence exudes, culminating in a visceral acknowledgement of separation that uses the seasons as a metaphor for personal difference: “You shine like Summer / Whilst my Autumn is all too real.” The ensuing line is especially affecting, more direct in its portrayal of what will never be: “I’ll never hold you, I’ll never kiss you.” Drawing upon classic dream-pop inspirations like Cocteau Twins alongside their own riveting songwriting, Broken Horses’ “The Space Between Us” is a fantastic, immersive output.
Stream the band’s EP in full:
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
