Horse Jumper of Love announce Disaster Trick Deluxe Edition out October 24th
Horse Jumper of Love | Photo credit: Maria Gelsomini
Last summer Horse Jumper of Love released their latest album, Disaster Trick, drawing acclaim from fans and critics alike (including Pitchfork, Stereogum, Paste Magazine, and more). To celebrate the album's anniversary they've announced Disaster Trick Deluxe Edition, arriving October 24th via Run For Cover Records, with b-sides, demos, alternative versions, and more.
Today the band has shared ‘Mansion’ a previously unheard track from the Disaster Trick sessions that taps into the combination of expansive songwriting, dreamlike mood, and satisfying dissonant guitar crunch that Horse Jumper of Love excel at.
Listen to ‘Mansion’ via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp9YKhGn1lI
Stream ‘Mansion’ everywhere: https://horsejumperoflove.lnk.to/mansion
Preorder Disaster Trick Deluxe Edition: https://horsejumperoflove.lnk.to/disastertrickdeluxe
Vocalist/guitarist Dimitri Giannopoulos discussed the new song saying:
"'Mansion' is a song that started back in the self-titled days (2014/15 -ish). I remember being into the early Swans stuff back then and it had a pretty direct influence on the guitar and drums. I always regret not recording it when I was 20, so I could have tapped into the youthful rawness the self-titled album has. In the studio Jamie, John and I knew how to play it right away even though we hadn't thought about it in almost eight years. That's a cool part about being in a band together for so long - the collective memory we share that allowed us to record something that was almost abandoned. The song only existed in our minds that whole time, no demos or anything."
Recorded in Asheville, North Carolina with producer Alex Farrar (Wednesday, Indigo De Souza) Disaster Trick showcased Horse Jumper of Love at the peak of their powers. Now Disaster Trick Deluxe Edition brings listeners further into the album's world, offering insights into the songwriting with sparse demos of roaring album cuts (‘Snow Angel’), fascinating alternate versions (‘Wink’), and previously unheard b-sides like ‘Mansion.’ Disaster Trick Deluxe Edition will be released digitally as well as on CD for the first time.
Disaster Trick Deluxe Edition track list:
1. Snow Angel
2. Wink
3. Today's Iconoclast
4. Word
5. Lip Reader
6. Wait by the Stairs
7. Heavy Metal
8. Curtain
9. Death Spiral
10. Gates of Heaven
11. Nude Descending
12. Snake Eyes (Again)
13. The Idiot
14. The Car Knows the Way
15. Anger is an Arch
16. Mansion
17. Wink (Synth Version)
18. Lip Reader (Alternate Version)
19. Curtain (Demo)
20. Snow Angel (Demo)
Biography:
Horse Jumper of Love thrive on patient and uncompromising songs. Thanks to frontman Dimitri Giannopoulos’ evocative lyrics and arrangements that suddenly turn from delicate to blistering, their music is full of intensity. While the Boston trio, which also includes bassist John Margaris and drummer James Doran, has stretched the fringes of indie, their latest is their most immediate yet. Out August 16 via Run For Cover Records, Disaster Trick tackles self-destructiveness with healing and heart.
Where Horse Jumper of Love’s last release 2023’s Heartbreak Rules excelled with quiet, bare-bones songwriting, Disaster Trick cranks up the volume while keeping the no-frills intimacy of the band’s catalog. Recorded at Asheville, North Carolina’s Drop of Sun Studios with producer Alex Farrar (Wednesday, Indigo De Souza), the recordings soar with searing guitars and an unshakeable rhythm section. “I tried the quiet thing on the last album and I realised there's definitely two parts of me: I like really heavy music, and I like really gentle music,” says Giannopoulos. “The two albums I listened to the most while we were in the studio were Leonard Cohen’s Songs From a Room and Hum’s Downward is Heavenward.” This contrast between quiet and loud exists throughout Disaster Trick but it's animated by stark emotion and straightforward, timeless songwriting.
Disaster Trick feels like a creative reset. It’s also Horse Jumper of Love distilled to their purest essence, which is partly due to Giannopoulos’ recent sobriety. “This was the first album I've ever done where I went into it with a very clear mind,” he says. “In the past, we would just show up at a studio, drink, and record. Here, everything felt purposeful.” With newfound energy, the band revisited old, unfinished material like ‘Gates of Heaven,’ which dates back nearly a decade. Originally written during a period Giannopoulos describes as full of immaturity, he sings, “I am late to work again / I’m always missing something / when I walk out the door.” By focusing on a mundane moment, he highlights how self-defeating behaviors can linger.
For the band, the album marked an opportunity to strip down their songwriting to the essentials: urgent, accessible arrangements full of catharsis. “This album helped me realise that a lot of the time, simplicity is the answer,” says Giannopolous. Lead single ‘Wink,’ captures this perfectly. When Giannopoulos sings over hushed guitars, “And your arms have never looked / More empty than they do from here,” his delivery exudes a remarkable earnestness. As the track hits a boiling point in its thunderous chorus, it's disarmingly raw. Other songs like ‘Today’s Iconoclasts’ are imbued with wry humor, referencing both “the Amazon Basics Bible” and playing “fuck, marry, kill” in consecutive verses. Whatever the mood, Giannopoulos’ lyrical directness anchors Disaster Trick.
While in Asheville, the band enlisted collaborations from Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman as well as Squirrel Flower’s Ella Williams. Opening track ‘Snow Angel’ kicks off with a growling, shoegaze-tinged guitar riff. It’s a heavy song that’s grounded by wistfulness. “Would you pull me a feather / From your pillow - I want to dream like you,” sings Giannopoulos. Throughout, Disaster Trick navigates uncomfortable, dark thoughts with a subtle grace. On the downtempo and compelling ‘Word,’ Giannopoulos finds lightness in relationship malaise: “Last night we had a fight / You blamed it on the moon / But that’s not very fair to the moon.”
Disaster Trick is a dark record but there’s a glimmer of hope throughout. As he sings on ‘Death Spiral,’ “I know it sounds dramatic / But I must describe / The way that it felt.” This gets to the core of the album: looking back on mistakes with the grace and clarity that comes from growing up. “A lot of the songs came out of this point where things in my life were going well but I couldn't accept it,” says Giannopoulos. “I was being a brat. Disaster Trick is me cleaning up my act and reflecting on it.”
Horse Jumper of Love online:
Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp
