The month of March was particularly eventful for Pittsburgh indie rock band feeble little horse. The band released a new single titled “This is Real” on March 11, along with an announcement of their first United Kingdom and European tour. The single is their first new material since their 2023 sophomore LP “Girl with Fish.”
In addition to the release, guitarist Ryan Walchonski’s departure from the band as well as the arrival of new guitarist Rob Potesta were announced via an Instagram post on March 20.
“hey all, ryan here — just wanted to take a second to let everyone know i’m stepping away from being an active member of feeble little horse. I am forever grateful for Jake, Lydia and Sebastian, as well as anyone who has cared to give our music a shot,” Walchonski said. “I’m proud to have had a hand in creating our recent single and am sure that future work will continue to be beautiful and creative.”
The development is especially disappointing considering how the band’s cohesiveness was formed upon the friendship between its members. This is apparent in their Post-Trash interview, where writer Giliann Karon notes their connection and Walchonski’s important role.
“The band’s greatest strength lies in their collaboration, which would be impossible without such profound trust and loyalty,” Karon wrote in the interview. “When asked what keeps them grounded on tour, drummer Jake Kelley simply said ‘Ryan.’ They’re not interested in chasing trends or appealing to the masses. If you’re lucky enough to stumble upon them, it’s great if you like what you hear, but if you don’t, they’re not bending over backward to please anyone but themselves.”
There were also exciting new developments regarding band member Sebastian Kinsler’s solo project, find my friends. The album’s first single “Call” was released on March 31, accompanied by an Instagram post by Kinsler.
“my first solo release in a while is out today! trying a few different things on this project — the underlying thread is finding out how simple a song can be while still being fun to listen to. hope u enjoy the first single ‘call,’” the artist said on the post.
“Call” stands apart from feeble little horse’s songs for its striking simplicity. It is very formulaic, consisting of the repeating lyrics “Where were you when I got the call? / You drop me down / and leave me through it all.”
However, despite its unique simplicity, it still contains the trademark galloping, noisy and tastefully disjoined DNA of other feeble little horse songs that gained the band its popularity.
Many take note of the patchwork quality of the sound that comes as a result of the collaboration between the band members.
“Throughout the self-recorded, self-produced songs on ‘Girl With Fish,’ feeble little horse not only get irreverent and noisy, but also glitched-out and pop-y, tossing surprising riffs and sounds into the pot like a fistful of salt, alternating a sprinkle of sweetness for the more tender, relatable moments,” Erin Wolf wrote for Radio Milwaukee.
Both find my friends’ “Call” and feeble little horse’s songs contain a nostalgic, heartfelt quality that is balanced by a blend of abrasive, fast-paced noises and monotone vocals. Hopefully, fans can expect to hear more music in the coming months from both Kinsler’s side project and feeble little horse.
According to find my friends’ Bandcamp, the entirety of the album is set to release on May 30.
Tessa Kang is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at tokang@uci.edu.
Edited by Drew Askeland