Sounds like a bunch of guys wore out the grooves of On the Beach, decided to start a band and put their own spin on what Neil Young had in mind. Fortunately, there’s more.

Mail the Horse tap into a conglomerate of gospel grunge and country booze that allows its five members to get their rocks off, and then some. Marking their third performance at Mercury Lounge (one including a New Year’s Eve celebration with the Felice Brothers), the band took the stage with a degree of confidence that only musicians who have worked tirelessly to perfect their technique have. Translation: it’s time for Mail the Horse to graduate to bigger stages.

Some may criticize a band that play musical chairs with each other’s instruments, but Mail the Horse evolve with each new changeup; be it the earthy feel of “Dorothy” or the defiant crunch of “Novocaine Blues,” waving its middle finger in the same fashion as Deer Tick. But simply labeling Mail the Horse as another alternative rock band would be unfair. For one, they’ve got a piano player who could school you on all things Jerry Lee Lewis, and a pedal steel player who sounds like he just came off a whiskey and cocaine binge with J.J. Cale. Mail the Horse don’t play clean and they don’t resort to lofty melodies either. Why? Who the hell needs to when you’ve got guitars with that much bite? Here’s a band with a lust for rock ‘n’ roll.

While many Brooklyn bands play music simply out of boredom or for money, Mail the Horse play for passion. Catch them at Cake shop with Pile on August 23rd.

– Melissa Caruso