London/Kent trio Voka Gentle are gearing up to the release of their new album WRITHING! in October, and today unveil the latest single from it, “Horse Latitudes”. If you, like us, are clueless about what ‘horse latitudes’ could possibly be, then be educated by the band as they discuss the song:
“The Horse Latitudes are latitudes known for stranding sailors at sea without wind. Apparently they would sometimes be stuck there for so long that they’d have to throw their horses overboard to conserve drinking water. This song is sort of about being ‘stranded’ in a kind of identity crisis and having to reconcile with oneself and lose the baggage, before being able to look outwards and move forward. The chorus simply says ‘get unburdened!’ – which is the thrust of the track. There’s also a little bit of mourning for the horses that the narrator remembers raising from birth- maybe there’s also a ‘kill your darlings’ kind of message.”
With that image of horses being thrown overboard in your mind, you are now ready to enter the unsettlingly determined electro world of “Horse Latitudes”. Despite the marooned feeling of the words, Voka Gentle ensure the track is propulsive, bounding forward on zig-zagging synths and powerful, industrial-esque drumming. In the first verse, vocalist William J. Stokes sings of being a tourist, a doctor with a gun, a teacher, a football coach and more, emphasising that this kind of life stagnancy can happen to anyone, and the clattering chorus of “Get unburdened!” feels inspirational.
However, after that, we’re purely in Voka Gentle’s idiosyncratic world as they take us into the “Horse Latitudes” as a marooned sailor in an emotional ocean. They double down on the synth melodies, desperately willing the song forward, building tension until they reach an exhilarating point of desperation and start maniacally chanting “carcass in the water! / carcass in the water!” While they then return to the “Get unburdened!” hook, it feels more maniacal, especially as more alarming synths are added to the fray, pulling the song to solid ground – but at what cost?
The video for “Horse Latitudes” is a thematic continuation of the clip for previous single “Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden” (featuring Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips). Watch the “Horse Latitudes” video below, or listen to the song on streaming platforms.
Voka Gentle’s new album WRITHING! comes out on October 22 through Leafy Outlook (pre-order/save). You can find the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
