Charlie Horse released one of our favourite albums of the year with I Hope I’m Not A Monster and in a full interview that we’ll be publishing in the coming weeks they tell us they’re already halfway through the next record which should be out in the second half of 2013. With a widescreen rock n roll sound that draws influence from Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Chrissie Hynde and Lucinda Williams, Charlie Horse (centred around guitarist/songwriter Paul McDonald and singer Crystal Rose) are a band we highly recommend you check out. We put the duo through the punishing exercise that is Sonic Kicks.

The first album I bought…

Paul – Frankie Goes To Hollywood | Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Maybe this is the beginning of my love for OTT bombastic music. I couldn’t believe how good this was when I was a wee kid, little did I know it was all a bit racey and somewhat sexually oo lah lah… and a Bruce cover too.
Crystal – The Verve | Urban Hymns. It’s amazing what an aloof, sexy guy does for your musical growth, shame he turned into such a boring git.

The album that soundtracked a relationship…

Paul – Ryan Adams |Easy Tiger
Crystal – Ryan Adams |Easy Tiger – Cough cough, nothing to see here.

The album that inspired me to form a band…

Paul – U2 | Under A Blood Red Sky. The mullets, the boots, the flags, the songs. What’s not to like. I can probably still play every note from Edge and sing every part from Saint Bono note perfect. Sleeves on your shirt, no thanks.
Crystal – Aretha Franklin | I Never Loved A Man the Way I Love You. Dad used to buy these old albums for me because he liked gutsy chick vocals plus they were dirt cheap, two dollar bin style but I do still love the blues.

The album that reminds me of my high school years…

Paul – The Cure | Staring At The Sea (on cassette so you got the brilliant b-sides). We used to hitch rides with the older guys from school who had cars and “pull laps” up and down the main street of Tumut and blast this on tape. I remember playing this on the way to the snow fields because we could do skiing for sport, and we spun out and went off a cliff, A Forest soundtracked the terror.
Crystal – Matchbox 20 | Yourself Or Someone Like You

The album I’d love to hear played live and in full…

Paul – The Verve | A Storm In Heaven. I left Australia for the UK to, amongst other things, see the Verve. They broke up for the first time the week I got there.
Crystal – The Rolling Stones | Exile On Main Street. Beyond amazing…. made me fall in love with rock filled blues.

My favourite album cover art…

Paul – Husker Du | Zen Arcade
Crystal – The Rolling Stones | Goats Head Soup

My guilty pleasure album…

Paul – Fields of the Nephilim | Earth Inferno. By Christ these guys were vastly stupid and vastly good. Tied with Crystal’s choice actually and sounding much like it too.
Crystal – Meat Loaf  | Bat Out of Hell. Jim Steinman crazy and sounding much like Bruce Springsteen actually.

An album I loved but now have no idea why I bought it…

Paul – Underworld – any of them, what were we thinking, well we weren’t thinking we was raven’ maaan… but that is beside the point.
Crystal – Matchbox 20 – oh and Cat Stevens what was that?

The last album I bought…

Paul – Well I buy roughly an album a week, so I will put down the last GREAT album I bought. Jack Ladder  | Hurtsville. What a brilliant brilliant piece of brilliance. Perfect songs, perfect production and from the thinking mans Tim Rogers not that there is anything wrong with the drinking mans Tim Rogers.
Crystal – The National  | High Violet. A brilliant album but I wanted to punch him in the face live, what a ponce, ruined it for me. He makes red wine drinkers look bad.

I Hope I’m Not A Monster is out now via Laughing Outlaw Records.