To the Australian indie-rock duo of Kate Cooper (singer/guitarist) and Damon Cox (drummer/singer), An Horse — who went from rehearsing after hours in a Brisbane record store to playing “Camp Out,” the single from their 2009 debut, Rearrange Beds, on The Late Show With David Letterman — making their second album, Walls, isn’t just a chance to set the agenda for their next phase. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the fantastical journey that has carried them here, a pipe dream made thrillingly real.

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“We’d worked in the record store together for a couple of years and talked every day — even on days off — mostly about music and film, which we continue to do every day now.” says Damon. “After listening to music all day together at work for two years, we had a really clear idea of what we liked and disliked musically.” That bond was the backbone of Rearrange Beds; after two years of relentless touring, though, including stints out on the road with Tegan & Sara, Death Cab for Cutie, Cage the Elephant, Silversun Pickups and The Big Pink, An Horse had become a different animal altogether. Cooper, like Cox, is frank in her assessment of their earlier album. “With Rearrange Beds, we made a record of two people learning how to play together. I don’t think you can hear that on the album per se, but that’s what it was.” This time, the pair decided to make a record that reflected their bond not just as music aficionados, but as musical collaborators. “Walls was really deliberate,” Kate explains. “We had hundreds of shows under our belt and we had figured out how to play off each other.”