Horse Vision

Indie rock has demonstrated across generations how a seemingly indestructible genre can constantly reinvent and rejuvenate itself. Rarely, however, does a band – or more precisely, a duo – combine all the virtues usually associated with the indie label on their debut album. Johan Nilsson and Gabriel von Essen are total newcomers to the music scene, textbook outsiders without pretensions or conventional stylistic constraints. Instead of forcing themselves into the mould of some kind of expectation, the two break with current trends as Horse Vision and have created a kaleidoscope of diverse influences in 2025: The Pixies’ lustful experiments accompany accentuated vocals like those of Bladee, the dreamy tenor of 2010’s slacker folk holds hands with the pastoral guitars of Pinegrove, hooky Americana greets slowcore and ambient pop in consensual nostalgia. Where familiar ideas or samples are often more of a curse than a blessing for up-and-coming bands in their early stages, Horse Vision transform their referential collage into music that – with its thoughtful interpolations – comes across as both honest and ironic.