When A Thousand Horses were touring behind their 2015 Number One country single “Smoke,” the band brought along a drummer, a keyboardist, and three female backup singers to every show, somehow managing to squeeze nine people onstage. At the time, Rolling Stone likened them to a country Lynyrd Skynyrd, but it’s a much different and leaner Horses that released the new album The Outside last week. Their deal with a Nashville major label is ancient history, the backup singers are long gone, and, most notably, original guitarist Zach Brown exited the group last year to be closer to family, leaving singer Michael Hobby, guitarist Bill Satcher, and bassist Graham DeLoach to ride on.
You could say the band is a few horses shy of their name. But there’s nothing lacking on The Outside , a sturdy, melodic country-rock record that shows what’s possible when a band is brave enough to make music not from the POV of where they were, but where they are now: on the outside looking in. Over 11 tracks, A Thousand Horses write and sing about letting go, perseverance, and heartbreak in a vulnerable way that often escaped the group when they were chasing country radio hits.
Which isn’t to say none exist here. Produced by Jon Randall, who’s overseen albums by equally gritty artists like Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley, The Outside , released on the band’s own Highway Sound Records, has a few tunes that would fit nicely on a “cool country” playlist. “Roll On” is a plea for.