YAANG – Horsepower is God
There are a lot of ways to spend seven minutes; but, there were even fewer ways to spend them when “Horsepower Is God” was written to simply end a live set. “Horsepower Is God” was the first new music from YAANG after they released their debut EP, No, in 2025. Instead of being a way to close a show, “Horsepower Is God” became a release point for all the emotions surrounding the idea of masculinity and the expectations that go with it. Al Groves (who has worked with Bring Me The Horizon and Cast), produced “Horsepower Is God” and co-produced it with the three-piece band. Al also did the mixing and Jesse F Keeler did the mastering.
The song does not give us any clear answers. It leaves us with contradictions: strength and weakness, tenderness and ferocity, routine that gives you a sense of normalcy until you realize it could slowly kill you, and chaos that will make you feel alive until you can no longer breathe. I think there is actual ambivalence about being a man and wanting men or not wanting to be either. The repeated title is answered each time by a statement of comfort that is very paternal (“it’s alright, son”) which will calm you while simultaneously undercut every single thing prior to it.
As a rule, seven minutes usually seems like a long time. To me at least, this song does not.
