David E. Jackson
Sarah Vos (left) and Daniel Wolff are on an upward trajectory.
Dead Horses singer-songwriter Sarah Vos had already written bits and pieces of the title track to the band’s latest album, My Mother The Moon, years before working on the recording. “It was late at night, early spring, and I had just gone hiking,” Vos tells Isthmus. “I was sitting in my apartment, probably drinking a little whisky, and the words just came to me, and a little bit of the melody.”
It wasn’t the first time Vos has channeled lunar symbolism in her music — Dead Horses’ 2016 album was called Cartoon Moon, and the cover for the band’s 2014 album Space And Time suggests a cosmic theme. A symbol of female power, introspection and the cyclical rhythm of time, the moon seems a fitting muse for the Milwaukee duo’s brand of intimate and cerebral folk-bluegrass.
Featuring Vos on guitar and vocals and Daniel Wolff on bass, Dead Horses has been on an upward trajectory, thanks to a relentless touring schedule and some favorable attention from national press. Their last two albums were recorded in Nashville and produced by Ken Coomer (of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo). The band’s sound has evolved from a stripped-down acoustic bluegrass duo to more produced folk-country sound — complete with percussion, piano and strings. Vos’ songwriting and lyrics skew more personal on the latest release, drawing from her feelings and reactions to the world around her.
“It was very much influenced by the things I was experiencing, the different kinds of empathy I felt for other people, even politically what was going on at the time,” she says. “It’s about the bigger picture.”
Over the last several years, Dead Horses has gone from playing regional shows to touring nationally with bigger-name acts like Trampled by Turtles and Elephant Revival. Following the April 6 release of My Mother the Moon, the duo has launched a headlining tour that will take them all over the nation, and eventually Europe, Vos says. They play in Madison on May 6 at the Capitol Theater with Trampled by Turtles. The show is already sold out.
“It has always been a goal of mine to be experiencing exponential growth,” Vos says of the band’s success. “I feel like we have received a lot of really good things due to working really hard and being on the road so much.”
Vos says her songwriting has changed since the band’s early days spent carving out a niche within the bluegrass family. She’s interested in exploring beyond that genre as the band progresses, as well as being more deliberate and collaborative when it comes to arrangement and song structure. “I’m being open to not playing just a particular style and wanting to do something new,” Vos says. “I think it’s going to continue in that direction.”
