Not So Feeble, Feeble Little Horse
Article and photos by Roshni Thamatur
Most groan at having to work a double shift but Lydia Slocum, bassist and vocalist for Feeble Little Horse, screeched from the depths of…well, horse hell. The Pittsburgh quartet played at Pitchfork Music Festival right before their show at Lincoln Hall this past Saturday (7/20), marking their second and third time playing in Chicago, all in one day!
Feeble Little Horse’s sound is wildly unpredictable, “the band careens from blissed-out pop to harsh noise, glitchy programmed drum beats, and off-kilter indie rock—sometimes all in one song” (Feeble Little Horse). The band consists of bassist/vocalist Lydia Slocum, guitarist/vocalist Sebastian Kinsler, guitarist Ryan Walchonski, and drummer Kelley. Born in a college dorm room in 2021, they've since released an EP, modern tourism, and a full-length, Hayday, along with their newest album Girl with Fish, which was released this past year.
Their show at Lincoln Hall opened with Cusp, a Chicago band with lots of personality. This was a very personal choice considering Feeble Little Horse used to listen to them before they were even a band. Cusp’s most recent EP, Thanks So Much, had the crowd screaming. But it wasn’t until they played “Limited Edition”, off their 2023 album You Can Do It All, that the vibes completely changed. This one was a head-banger favorite. Their set explored thundering riffs and unique melodies, taking influence across heavy rock, indie-pop, and shoegaze.
With much awaited anticipation from the crowd, Feeble Little Horse was on. They opened with “Freak”, their most popular song currently on Spotify, off Girl with Fish. A favorite line of mine appeals to all the crush-having girls: “How can you be satisfied/She’s 5’1” and you’re 6’5”.” Moving swiftly to “Sweet”, a personal favorite of mine that opens with a smack of blown-out guitars and drums before drawing back to a tight riff. The sweetness of Lydia’s voice, accompanied with eccentric melodies, had me unable to stop moving, following the highs and lows of every song. It wasn’t until after “Heavy Water” when the group showed us what it's like to make music with your best friends. They gave us some spontaneity on stage by collaborating and choosing a different song to play for us, a special touch that many appreciated considering the mosh pit that followed. This crowd favorite was “Drama Queen”, off their 2021 album Hayday.
Following the mosh, Lydia let us know that Chicago is their favorite city to play in. “Statistically speaking most of our listeners are from Chicago, thanks Chicago”. Building off the crowd’s excitement, the band played “Steamroller”, another crowd favorite from Girl with Fish. This song encompasses newfound lyrical confidence in Slocum, highlighting depression, lust, and even religion seen with the line: “Wet bed sheets she bled from the pressure/Plastic Catholic priest watched from the dresser.” Both guitarists took turns on introducing songs with heavy distortion and delay, creating an engulfing audio scape, uniting the crowd before dropping the riffs to these well known songs. They never let the crowd know what they were about to play until they played it. But once they figured it out, they never failed to make the crowd erupt in cheers. The next song they played took me by surprise as Sebastian and Ryan took the lead with singing “hold”, off their first EP modern tourism. They brought a new sound to the group, a reflection of the band’s diverse influences of fuzzy shoegaze guitars and pop hooks.
Now, the last song of the night was superstitious to say the least. In unison, they all said this is the last song they play at every show since they started and if they don't play it “bad things will happen”. This song was “down”, off modern tourism, and had the crowd screaming louder than ever. But it was Lydia’s hell-like screeches at the end of this song that reminded me of the tribulations of working a double.
Check out their Spotify and website for upcoming shows linked below!
https://www.feeblelittlehorse.com