Horsey's awaited return “Sippy Cup” is a bonkers track brimming with halcyon charm

On “Sippy Cup”, the four-piece, comprising Jacob Read (AKA Jerkcurb), Theo McCabe, Jack Marshall (King Krule’s brother) and George Bass, eschew their earlier dalliances in mellow and spacey pop. Instead, they double-down on the subversive blitz, charm and whimsy found in 2019’s barnstorming “Bread & Butter”.

On the frenetic new track, Horsey paint an outrageous aural action painting, dripping colours from their infinite pop palette all over the record’s black wax. There are hearty slashes of jazz drumming running down its spine, foregrounded splatters of dual vocals that are both spotty and bright, and pools of time signatures aplenty to be feasted upon.

When describing the energies infusing “Sippy Cup”, the band are to-the-point, simply stating that it's about “being, living and acting like a child”. The single’s cover, which is a childhood photo that shows Read and McCabe, is full of the same insouciance and nostalgia that's pumped into the track.

To complement the charming bizarreness of the single’s sound, it comes coupled with an equally baffling visual aid. The frantic Japanese karaoke drenched music video shows the brutal life of a cheap processed hot-dog, from laboratory creation to unceremonious sacrifice at a hot-dog eating contest, while the vocals pour out, bellowing, “If not in this shit / Then where the fuck could happiness be?” It’s certainly a question to ponder after hearing this track.