There's a desert out there in Arizona. The sun shines brightly on it. It shines on it day after day. That makes it hot. Horse Operas sound like they have walked across such a desert. An iPod won't cure your thirst in such circumstances. A man needs beer. And a song to fill those awkward gaps between beers. That's what you dream off in that heat.
That's a rambling introduction - for sure - but there is a point to it. Some songs sound like they have no home. Some horses have no name. This band sound like they have had something taken away from them and that's what gives them their voice. There are moments when the band sounds normal - "Love Me Hard And Then I'll Die" - and much like any other Americana type band. Then they throw in little gems like the splendidly oblique urban displacement tale "Wish-A-Lot" or the quasi protest song "Factories". Maybe that's the appeal. That frustration and helplessness that we all feel gets expressed well here.
The sound is simple and to the point as well. There's no lavish production here and the sleeve notes point out that that the album was recorded on an old Otari reel to reel recorder. That use of old technology seems so very appropriate. "Dead Man's Music" is album where the words ring true. Just as words used to do.