Every now and then, a song comes along that feels like it’s been sitting in the corner of your brain, waiting for someone to write it. HorthWorld’s latest single, “Fumes,” is that kind of track; a rush of adrenaline disguised as a love song, built for the moments when affection and exhaustion start to blur together. It’s upbeat, urgent, and alive with the sound of someone trying to hold onto feeling in a world that won’t slow down.
The brain behind HorthWorld is Andrew Horth, a Derbyshire-based singer-songwriter whose approach to indie rock feels both reverent and restless. Since debuting with “Watercooler Girl” in 2024, a song that drew praise from producers like Nick Brine (Oasis, Stereophonics) and Gavin Monaghan (Editors, Ocean Colour Scene); Horth has carved out a sonic identity that thrives on contrast. His music walks the tightrope between humor and heartbreak, introspection and immediacy, all while balancing hooks sharp enough to cut through any crowd noise.
“Fumes” is perhaps his most complete statement yet. The track opens like it’s mid-sprint; driving guitars, crisp percussion, and melodies that refuse to sit still. There’s a pulse here that recalls Sam Fender’s widescreen storytelling and Biffy Clyro’s emotional volatility, yet it feels entirely its own. Horth’s vocals carry a kind of lived-in urgency. Not the stadium roar of an anthem, but the breathless confession of someone who’s been up too late thinking about what they can’t stop feeling.
Lyrically, “Fumes” captures that particular brand of insomnia only love can cause; the sleeplessness of wanting something that’s already taken up all your waking hours. There’s a tension between motion and meaning, between chasing connection and running on empty. The two key changes only amplify that sense of escalation. Not as gimmickry, but as storytelling through arrangement. Each shift feels like a new chapter in the same emotional spiral.
It’s the kind of song that would’ve dominated rock radio in the mid-2000s but feels oddly fresh now, precisely because it dares to sound unguarded. In an age of ironic detachment, “Fumes” wears its heart on its sleeve and then burns the sleeve for warmth. HorthWorld may be just getting started, but “Fumes” already sounds like the moment everything clicks; HorthWorld is an artist catching fire in real time, running on heart, hope and fittingly, fumes.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
