Pimpin' Horus

At first glance, there’s something different about this promising five-piece funk-infused bunch of local grommets. Easily recognised by their incredible intensity and love for the colour purple, Pimpin’ Horus are hard to miss, and after a few spins I found that this EP was well worth a listen.

Opener Take ‘Em Down introduces us to guitarist LST DeLane with a sharp intro followed by a stomp on the wah pedal, which makes regular appearances throughout ‘Down For The Money’. No Shame keeps the energy going steadily as frontman Shan Van Diepen stamps his authority on the track (and throughout the rest of this record). It also becomes pretty obvious at this point that shrieking guitar solos are to be expected on every number, with DeLane clearly keen to show off his chops. Bringing the tempo down a few notches, Get Together brings in some toe-tapping bass lines from a man named Thrillby and the band shows that they can be surprisingly mature, both musically and lyrically. An absolutely manic drummer named Jimmy P has been present throughout this whole experience as well, but really comes through in Redline, definitely the anthem of this EP and easily the biggest highlight. Everything fittingly comes to a close with a song called Energy, and it is clear that intentions were to finish the whole thing off with a bang. The arrangement of each song and the EP as a whole has been constructed very carefully, and as a result it really is a joy to listen to. - dB Magazine

It's an oft forgotten fact that a few of the more prominent acts of the nineties began as what can easily be called 'funk rock' bands. The Red Hot Chili Peppers stayed pretty funky, but there is a distinct sound to the 'Mother's Milk' era. Incubus began life similarly, particularly their first album 'Fungus Amongus', but moved on after 'S.C.I.E.N.C.E.' to a more hard rock sound. Those two are by no means the only nineties bands to start out so funky, but serves as prominent examples. Local lads Pimpin' Horus debut EP 'House of Horus' is heavily reminiscent of those funkier times, but at no times feels derivative.

The production of this EP is very high quality. Well recorded, well mixed and solidly produced. The elements are well balanced in each song and, although I'd have liked a little more clarity in the diction, it's a small complaint.

The strongest tracks are She's Fierce and the very Faith No More Sweet Denial. The remaining tracks, Stranger and Monkey are both of equal quality, but just lack that something in the writing that makes the others stand out. In both cases, the catchy element is in the vocal line and the creative use of backing vocals.

'House of Horus' is a great example of what an EP should be; short, to the point and full of strong tracks. There's not really a single on here, but together the four tracks make the EP well worth purchasing. She's Fierce would provide the best example of what to expect on the CD.

Pimpin' Horus are definitely one of the local bands to watch and, given their prolific gigging schedule, that's not hard to do. I will be particularly interested to see where the band's sound evolves from here and so should you.

Alastair Collins - dB Magazine

Pimpin' Horus are not exactly a band you could call 'idle'. The Adelaide funk/rock quintet are all set to release their second EP, 'House Of Horus', about to venture off to Melbourne (again), and all the while they're still breaking in new band members and exploring the sonic evolution that comes from introducing new influences to an established group.

'House Of Horus' follows on from the well received (particularly by the local horde of fans) debut EP 'Down For The Money' and represents the band in a state of flux. "We'd recently gone through a number of member changes," remarks vocalist Shan Van Diepen. "Some of the stuff off (House Of Horus) was written before we had all the new guys in. I think that was right on the cusp of where those guys were starting to become permanent and established members."

New blood in a band often brings new influences to the group's dynamic. This is certainly the case for Pimpin' Hours, much to Van Diepen's surprise after I drew a comparison between the band and Incubus's early material. "Well, maybe that's a little bit of one of the new guys, because he was a big Incubus fan" Van Diepen points out. "I wasn't a big Incubus fan, but when he first came in to the band, we had a good process where the new guys would come in and share around their CDs and, so, you trade a few influences."

"It's a bit of an interesting snapshot of where we're starting to get to (as a band)." he muses of the new EP

Not a band to be constrained to a single city, Pimpin' Horus have been avidly spreading the funk around Australia with shows all over the country, including Hobart and more prominently Melbourne. The group is heading back to the rainy city soon to launch the new EP on to the unsuspecting Victorians, with a show at the Espy of all places.

One of the often overlooked aspects of building a new band is audience interaction. It's not enough, at first, to simply turn up and play a show; you need to make the crowd care about your band and the best way of doing that is getting to know them and making them think of your band as 'my mate's band'. Pimpin' Horus seem to understand this particularly well and make a point of trying to keep in touch with their fans.

"We love hanging out with people after shows" Van Diepen says. "We end up making friends with most of the people who come out to the shows and we see them out and around in between as well. There's definitely a lot of back and forth interaction with the fans between gigs."

Keep your ears to the floor and your eyes on Facebook for the movements of Pimpin' Horus as they spread the funk all around. These local lads are definitely one of our rising stars and you'd best make it to a gig now, before they're mainstream.


Pimpin' Horus will be launching 'House Of Horus', at Jive on Fri 8 Oct with Fallen Sunrise, The Timbers and Hobart's Chi-Roh.


By Alastair Collins - dB Magazine