EP Review: ‘Summer Indoors (or outside wearing black)’ – The Healing Power of Horses
EP Review: ‘Summer Indoors (or outside wearing black)’ – The Healing Power of Horses Alluring and shiny… dispersed with jolts of dissonance and energy. By Hannah Ugboma 2 September 2026 ‘Summer Indoors (or outside wearing back)’ is the debut EP from Cambridgeshire duo The Healing Power of Horses and their first release since signing section1, an LA-based label and subset of Partisan Records, which aims to ‘operate in an art-first way’. The release follows the mysterious tape ‘NS005’, released in 2025. Like their previous work, this project reflects the conditions in which it was recorded: ‘NS005’ sears like the ‘Biblical heatwave’ it was recorded during, and ‘SID(owb)’ is more moody, darker, reflecting the attic isolation the EP was written in. This 4 track release is alert, with a clear sound and level of urgency within the music. It mixes genres and sounds, from trip-hop to grunge, with elements of classical music mixing with electronic sounds seamlessly. ‘Summer Indoors (or outside wearing black)’ is alluring and shiny. It has a murky sound, sweeping and encompassing, dispersed with jolts of dissonance and energy. Opening with the hypnotic ‘i wait, i sink’, a trip-hop esque track which announces itself through a sparse but driving drum pattern and a commanding bassline. The half-time feel of the track is broken up by fractious guitar licks and deep, layered vocals. It sounds desperate at times as lyrics repeat again and again, like a prayer or mantra; begging for release from something beyond sight, as the song ends in a sinking distortion. The off-kilter guitar tone and mantra-like singing style continues in ‘So-Perfect(Combining)’, the guitar dispersed with shadowy 808s. A secretive tone is set, you feel like you might be listening to something you shouldn’t, amplified by the inclusion of what sounds like a phone call recording midway. Unease and quiet builds with the pitch. The track then shifts; you only hear the soft calm of strings, and another mantra begins. It’s a graceful break before a new drum beat enters, creating a sound not dissimilar to previous tracks by Headache (aka Vegyn), a perfect symphony. C – The Great Escape 2026 ‘TOURNIQUET’ shifts the tone completely, as harsh percussion leads to a harsher synth line driven almost completely by 808s. C talk sings over a spare percussive beat, with fast hi-hats and bass deep in the track. The sound crashes back in during the chorus, before fading into an almost twee outro, the sound alleviated by woodwind and a bouncier bassline. The EP closes out with the disparate ‘In Yr Right Hand Reveal Heaven’. The vocals are slightly fried and strained, over a gloomy, strummed bassline, interrupted by brighter specks of alleviation and chord change. The durgier sound is fractured by some relaxed acoustic guitar and smoother vocals. The track soars, more triumphant and ecstatic, as a new mantra repeats. It eases out on graceful strings, softer whispers, and slight unease. The Healing Power of Horses – The Great Escape 2026 The EP is fully in control of its sound. It feels sweeping, graceful, intriguing and quite beautiful. The lyrics are often repeated again and again, leaving one sitting with the imagery they provoke (“Your window is like a mouth, daylight is pouring out”, “I saw again the tent of Yael and heard a scream/Be quiet it’s just an incision” are some favourites). The record is almost fervent with religiosity, with references to a ‘right hand in heaven’, ‘the devil’, ‘heaven in your arms’, ‘hammer in the yard like a holy son’, creating a rich layer of intrigue alongside the general tone. The duo have played at the Great Escape and Green Man, and will be performing a string of shows this autumn, including Left Of The Dial in Rotterdam and the Pitchfork Music Festivals in both Paris and London. Listen to the EP and support the band via their Bandcamp. You Might Also Like Recent Posts