Red Horses of the Snow – Territories

A prevailing sense of nostalgia dominates Territories, the debut from artist/musician Chris Hawtin and producer Mark Burgess’ collaboration as Red Horses of the Snow. Throughout, Hawtin explores lyrical themes of isolation and technology’s ability to connect us to the rest of the world, whilst simultaneously removing us from it by proxy. These are not new realisations and are in no way revolutionary, but Hawtin’s sincerity is never overwrought, lending  these songs the requisite poignancy to be felt by their listener.

This sentimentality and lack of artifice is in some ways akin to that of The Manchester Orchestra, though sonically Territories rings of digital production and multitracking, evoking and reinforcing the record’s subject matter. Standout track Siam, with its shuffling rhythm and synth swells, exposes the band’s ability as songwriters with a chorus that contains the album’s least dressed up melody, so dangerously good it can only get lodged deep in your skull.