Beauty & Sadness

Ably smudging the lines between everything from drizzly jangle rock (“Alone”) to ghostly ‘80s electronica (“Theme for Sadness”), Horsebeach’s third album has the feel of a dust-caked cassette compilation. Given frontman Ryan Kennedy’s former life as an employee at crate-digging Manchester institution Piccadilly Records this makes sense. But while this Mancunian four-piece wear their influences proudly—perhaps most exhilaratingly amid the irresistible power pop chug of the title track—*Beauty & Sadness* adds an icy élan that’s all their own.