Album Review: Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant

When at four albums into their career, Brisbane’s almighty Caligula’s Horse were one of those ridiculously rare animals that had bettered itself on every single release to that point. In this humble writer’s opinion anyway. Does that continue on this, their fifth outing? Man, it’s nigh on impossible to keep that kind of pace up for an entire career, and 2017’s In Contact is an extraordinarily tough act to follow up. But, viewed in isolation, Rise Radiant is yet another superb piece of work.

Ultimately, this band seems incapable of putting out a dud. Or even something slightly sub-par.

As with everything they’ve ever done, this record is instantly recognisable, choc-full of Caligula’s Horse-isms, and will please long-term fans of the band no end. The renowned dynamics inherent in their music are there in all their illustrious glory, never jarring, expertly woven into the fabric of their sound. As is the simultaneously dulcet and blistering guitar work of the incomparable Sam Vallen, the soulful and powerful vocals of Jim Grey, the iron-clad rhythm section and, of course, their ever unique and compelling songs.

There are no stand-out tracks here, and no fillers, just wall to wall quality. So it’s pointless to single out individuals songs for special praise. It’s an album that should be experienced end to end, start to finish, in track order, to fully grasp its wonders. That said, if you want to drop in at any point across its length, or use individual tunes as part of a playlist, every song stands up in that respect too. 

A candidate for album of 2020, this is the type of art that makes the strange and worrying life that we are all living at this moment far more bearable.