Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider
Cory Hanson’s monumental 2021 solo album Pale Horse Rider represents an enormous musical achievement. Known for his work with Wand, Hanson’s songwriting and musicianship is so elegantly displayed on his latest full length release, an album that makes you want to stroll down a moonlit gorge with your shoes off and catch the sunrise with dew creeping up your ankles. The record was recorded in a remote location out in the California desert, and the setting shines through the tracklist in a beautifully mysterious way. This neo-americana compilation of singing and sounds is a unique blend of old and new, hailing from the cosmic country of the late 60s as well as Hanson’s background in modern west coast psychedelia.
“Paper Fog” introduces us to the album with a mellow lo-fi beat before launching into an acoustic guitar-laden soundscape with a delicate, watery pedal steel solo. The track breaks into an enormous, fuzzed out harmony guitar solo before launching us back into dreamland.
“Angeles” is a lush, melodic number with a patient yet punchy bass line leading the way for Hanson’s silky vocals. The title track “Pale Horse Rider” is a beautiful patchwork of piano and strings. The ominous rider can pretty much be felt breathing down your neck as they loom over your shoulder.
The record segues into “Necklace,” an instrumental drone rising through the fog, which fades effortlessly into “Bird of Paradise,” putting into words the inexplicable sensations, physical and otherwise, of passing through a dream.
“Limited Hangout” reintroduces the theme of the ghostly rider, perhaps in a slightly more human, and approachable way. The song sings like the screenplay of a slow-burn western. “Vegas Knights” plays us in with some absolutely stunning pedal steel layers that just fold around the ears like a quilt.
“Surface to Air” provides yet another brief instrumental intermission before launching into one of the best songs I have ever heard, “Another Story From the Center of the Earth.” There is a power behind this tune that can’t be faked with clever studio techniques—an intensity and a rawness that carries undeniable weight.
The album wraps up with “Pigs,” allowing listeners the opportunity to decompress after the blistering fuzz guitar solo of the previous track. Hanson conjures up the late great Nick Drake, bringing the album to a grand, hope-filled finale.
This powerhouse of an album builds upon Hanson’s previous solo release, The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo, highlighting his songwriting, and displaying a certain musical touch and delicateness. In his work with Wand, Hanson has proven himself as a true rocker. His solo work represents a wonderful blend of this powerful front-man delivery, and a more subtle, lyrical approach to his work.
