Prize Horse – “The Big Picture”

The last time that we heard from the dreamy but intense Minneapolis shoegaze trio Prize Horse, one of our favorite new acts of 2024, was when they released their full-length debut Under Sound, one of our favorite albums of that year. Prize Horse released Under Sound on the tiny label New Morality Zine, and now they're moving on to Closed Casket Activities, a larger label that specializes in heavy hardcore, and they've seemingly got a new album on the way. We don't know much about the next record yet, but we do have a new single.

Like a lot of Prize Horse's past material, their new song "The Big Picture" doesn't fit too cleanly under the shoegaze umbrella. It's a heavy, skronky, intense guitar song that seems to belong to about five different subgenres at once. There's a whole lot of '90s in the way that they sound. When Under Sound came out, our own Chris DeVille compared it to Hum. That influence is still strong on "The Big Picture," but the oblique dynamics remind me a little more of Jawbox, at least until the wall of fuzz and the moshable breakdown come in. Here's what the band says about it:

"The Big Picture" is the first song we wrote for the new record, with demos of it dating back to 2023. Instrumentally, it's a step into a darker, more brooding environment compared to Under Sound, and ends with one of the heaviest sections we've ever written. The song naturally brought forth some honest lyrics about days where nothing feels right from the start and choices feel crushing. Overall, we think its a fitting first glimpse at our new LP.

In the months ahead, Prize Horse will tour North America with Graham Hunt and then do a European run with Spite House. Below, check out "The Big Picture" and the band's tour dates.