Seattle Weekly
"... That roughness was part of Blue Horns' aesthetic: Colin Howard
plays jangly guitar riffs with a garage-meets-southern rock tinge,
while guitarist and vocalist Brian Park shouts energetic "1-2-3s"
between crooning his warbly, poppy lyrics. But sometimes, that lack of
polish was too obvious, overshadowing the talent behind Blue Horns'
music.
A lot can change in a year, and the pop quartet has polished and
tightened its sound. On songs like "Shotgun Wedding," Howard's jangle
complements the rhythm of the drums and bass, creating a real,
foot-stomping beat. Park's warble is clearer; he now channels David
Bowie and Iggy Pop. Now the band's roughness is clearly
cultivated, rather than accidental. Blue Horns has the punk aesthetic
of 1970s pioneers Television, but the mass appeal of Bowie. What was
once just a Portland band with promise is on its way to gaining a
reputation in the Northwest scene."
Paige Richmond - feb 27th @ Mars Bar Seattle, WA.
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The Tape Is Not Sticky Blog
HELLO! By PistachioNut Jan 27th, '09
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Citizen Dick Blog
Album Review By Kevin, Janyary 21st, '09
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Willamette Week
[TWITTER JAM] Blue Horns vocalist Brian Park’s warbling wails and the band’s dueling guitars skip lightly over the poppy, post-punk drum lines of Brian Kramer—producing a sound of pleasantly organized hyperactivity. Following a slew of sterling reviews of the band’s self-titled debut full-length, Blue Horns has quickly emerged into a real player on Portland’s pop scene.
Whitney Hawke - Preview for Jan 15th @ Slabtown w/ The Crosswalks and Dominic Castillo and The Rock Savants
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Willamette Week - Local Cut's Cut of the Day
"Let's Go Hunting" gives off a similar airy vibe; it's full of Parks casually off-balance vocals, intersecting, diagonal guitar lines that rival the best of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and a steady beat from drummer Brian Kramer and bassist Andrew Stern. "Let's Go Hunting" is perfect late-afternoon music, and it sure sounds great coming after the ripping stomp of the album's standout (and previous COTD recipient) "I Will Eat You Up."
Michael Mannhiemer - Nov 17th, '08
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Willamette Week - Feature Article
"..Most of the album is composed of skittering, incessant foot-stompers; the kind of songs that sound good on first listen but five times better after frequent spins and a few beers. Taking cues from early-'80s post-punk and jangle pop, Blue Horns is the rare guitar band that can actually get a Portland crowd to dance.
Part of that is due to Park's unusual vocals. His wobbly, nervous chanting is a mix between Wilderness' James Johnson and a rabid dog. His lyrics are declarations—"This is all we have," or "Let's go hunting"—and the band's sturdy, intricate dual-guitar attack, coupled with the shuffling rhythm section, continually pushes tracks forward before they come to sudden, abrupt halts."
Michael Mannhiemer - Nov 13th, 2008.
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Vanguard - Portland State University
"..The resulting product is a tapestry of sharp beats, bouncing chords and hard-to-distinguish vocals combining to create a mood lifting, obnoxiously-large-headphone-worthy vibe that's perfectly coordinated with Park's get-up-and-dance lyrics."
Stephanie Fine Sasse - Nov 13th, '08. Preview for Album Release Show @ Backspace w/ Bark Hide and Horn and Resin Hits
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Portland Mercury
The debut LP from Blue Horns celebrates its awaited release tonight; it's also called Blue Horns, although its eight peppy songs don't really feature anything in the way of blues or horns. It's jangly, good-time indie rock, not a million miles from the Shaky Hands, particularly in the frenzied shuffle of "Boots On" and "God Had Other Plans." The wordless hooks of "Shotgun Wedding" dig in deep, and seem to do so without much effort, but the momentum of a song like "Ships Sink" is carefully built, and "Let's Go Hunting" has a stately, loping Television gait. Brian Park's vocals have a joyous, snotty energy, and the whole band sounds like the soundtrack to a glorious, sun-baked Portland summer. I don't know about you, but as we turn the corner into the depths of dark, wet winter, that sounds pretty damn good to me right about now.
Ned Lannamann - preview for Nov. 15th, '08 CD Release show @ Backspace in Portland with Bark Hide and Horn and Resin Hits
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Portland Mercury - End Hits Blog
"...If their set last night is any indication, Blue Horns is totally great. Playing jangly, shuffly tunes that are equal parts pop and rock, Blue Horns make music that is catchy, boisterous, and just a little bit bratty. "Shotgun Wedding" has the kind of hook that doesn't leave your head for days."
Ned Lannamann - Oct 21st '08 show w/ Evangelicals and Parethetical Girls. Backspace - Portland, OR.
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Classic Geek Theatre Blog
"...The second band, Blue Horns, was terrific. They were like a garagafied mid-point between Rademacher and The Deadly Syndrome. I spoke to their singer Brian for a while. He said his two biggest influences are Bo Didley and Television. Sounds about right.."
Mouse - review of July 24th, '08 show at Towne Lounge Portland, OR
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Willamette Week
[JANGLE PUNK] Bridging the gap between airy, toe-tappin' jangle pop and angular post-punk, local trio Blue Horns would often get lumped in with a band like the Shaky Hands if not for singer Brian Park's distinctive yelp. Dude's already earned a few Jello Biafra comparisons, but I hear a more expressive version of Wilderness' James Johnson, with a little extra kick in his near-monotone delivery. With guitars bouncing along to the beat, Park makes a call to "start dancing!" -and, unless you're tone deaf, that surely won't be a problem.
Michael Mannhiemer - preview for July 24th, '08 show at Towne Lounge Porland, OR.
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Willamette Week - Local Cut
I got this nice little capsule of skittering disco pop-punk from Portland's Blue Horns in the email a week or two back, and it got me stoked. Angular Wire-style guitars are always a plus, and coupling 'em with vocals as wavery as Jello Biafra's just means the teenager inside me starts smashing shit out of pure joy (and when you're a teenager, isn't the absolute pinnacle of joy smashing shit? Maybe that was just me). This is a faster track than stuff LC has heard from Blue Horns in the past, and Brian Park actually seems more comfortable with his vocals (they're as odd as ever, but sounding less like a drunk British ambassador and more like a wobbly punk rocker), and the recording (courtesy of Justin Higgins' Old Standard Studio) is obviously a step up from the band's previous work. So it would appear as though Paige Richmond's words ("Just give these guys a little time to polish their sound, and they'll be more than just your friend's band") seem to be coming true. Looking forward to hearing the upcoming album.
Casey Jarman - June 6th, '08
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Willamette Week
[SWAMP THING] Having fairly recently conceded its former name, Oh Captain, to a certain Bladen County band, Blue Horns continues to celebrate jangly, off kilter swamp rock under said new moniker. The songs are peppy, but there is also a blissful insanity in their execution - unintelligible lyrics that sound at once psychedelically soothing and like an aggressive Southern evangelist, stark breaks in time, intentional disorientation - that gives that band more substance (and less predictability) that other more polished bands of the same ilk.
AP Kryza - preview for April 18th, '08 show at Twilight Bar Portland, OR