Band of Horses
Hometown: Charleston, SC
Way back in 2010 I opened my mouth to say that Infinite Arms felt to me
like it was the first Band of Horses record. I was trying to imply that I finally
had the band I’d always dreamt of, that the album was a celebratory debut of
this unit. Or was I joking? That’s the thing: I’ve finally become comfortable
enough in this band that sometimes I don’t even know when I’m joking.
To me, Band of Horses has always been a study in contradictions. Not just
high / low or dark / light. I’m talking absolute piss-taking jokes that no one
will ever get vs. serious as a heart-attack paranoia or wallowing sadness.
Where does that leave us to go now? If Infinite Arms was our beloved pet
that we possibly spoiled rotten and stuffed full of too many “treats,” then
Mirage Rock would be his surprise little brother left on our doorstep. Maybe
a bit rougher around the edges, but the same wily, feral bloodline.
Mirage Rock was more fun and easier to make than any record I’ve ever
played on. For much of that, I can’t give enough credit to Creighton Barrett,
Ryan Monroe, Bill Reynolds and Tyler Ramsey. In the five or so years that
this line-up has been writing, recording and solidifying as a live powerhouse
and second family, we’ve all learned how crucial collaboration is to our
formula, and that no one person’s idea is more important than another’s.
Then there’s the guy who created the environment that enabled us to have
the most fun ever had making a Band of Horses record: Glyn Johns. As fate
would have it, Glyn was finishing up—or had just finished, I really don’t
know—an album for one of our manager’s other clients, heard some of our
primal demos for this record, and before we knew it he was part of the
process: at the controls, on the tape machine, and in the producer’s chair. It
was a natural fit: Given how much Glyn’s fingerprints were all over the
parents’ record collections we grew up on, it’s not hard to imagine how Glyn
influenced so much of not only our tastes and musical voices and
personalities, but Rock n Roll as we know it: The Stones, The Beatles, The
Who, The Small Faces, The Clash, Clapton… Glyn is part of the fabric of
this music and it’s all been part of us since childhood.
So of course we wanted to bring some Rock n Roll to Glyn Johns. If not just
to prove that we could record an album with everyone playing at the same
time in the same room with minimal overdubs, then to just to see if we could
make the old man boogie a bit and get into his wheelhouse. What we ended
up with in the end is an album that visits many of the textures that I feel we work best with—and also the opportunity to challenge ourselves with a few
new ones. The larger sound of the arena-baiting “Knock Knock” and the
sloppy dirge of “Feud” may remind the listener of an earlier Horses. The
straight-forward honesty of “How to Live” and "Everything’s Gonna Be
Undone" may conjure a longtime listener’s favorite Horses concert memory.
And the sincere “Slow Cruel Hands of Time” hopefully pulls every one of
you into a story in which you’re the main character.
And as with all great experiences, Mirage Rock left us with some questions
too: Is “Dumpster World” a joke? Is “Heartbreak On The 101” the saddest
song we’ve ever recorded? Is it even meant to be sad?
Really, I’m asking you. I can’t even tell what number album this is for Band
of Horses.
Godspeed,
Ben Bridwell
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American Songwriter's Top 50 Albums Of 2012 on Band of Horses
4 months ago#50 Even back when Band of Horses were writing soaring and dreamy indie rock epics like “The Funeral,” beneath the shimmer and sheen of their Pacific Northwestern façade, there was a gritty, folky Southern rock band. Increasingly that’s become all the more a part of the band’s identity, and the process of shedding their textural outerwear that began on 2010’s Infinite Arms has reached a new level of straightforward and stripped-back on Mirage Rock. It’s not so much that Band of Horses’ songs, themselves, are all that malleable — in six years, they’ve maintained a strong commitment to writing unforgettable, heart-on-sleeve pop tunes. On Mirage Rock, however, those pop tunes sound just as natural blaring out of the eight-track of an El Camino as they do through earbuds...full article here
TheOwlMag on Band of Horses
4 months agoBand of Horses Mirage Rock [Columbia]
How does an indie-Americana band swing back after their third studio release was nominated for the elusive Grammy? Mirage Rock cuts out Band of Horses‘ expansive reverb and burrows into Ben Bridwell’s southern roots. It’s an album that heavily leans on traditional rock arrangements, while still showcasing Bridwell’s famous falsetto. Lacking in experimentation, instead the tightly produced songs sound like a dusted-off Graceland without the South African flair, which is more of a compliment than a slight.
This deviance toward hometown twang will most likely create a chasm between Band of Horses’ fans. Gone are the moody moments to cinematically live inside. Instead, songs like “Slow Cruel Hands of Time” and “Long Vowels” cough out the dust bunnies and polish the cowboy boots. “Feud” is most reminiscent of their earlier work because it hits with a driving drumbeat and a swirling crescendo of hi-hats and crash cymbals. In “Heartbreak on the 101” Bridwell’s voice crackles low and raw, and the softly sweeping strings expand the moment into something more than just another sad song.
Though this may be a major divergence of previous albums, Mirage Rock has moments of extreme beauty steeped in an all-American sound. Even if they are commercially acclaimed already, the bearded boys in Band of Horses seem to still be surprising themselves with their own tinkerings. The future looks promising.
more at theowlmag.comKCRW's Chris Douridas on Band of Horses
6 months agoPlayed "Dumpster World" 11/10/2012 1:19 pm
Buzz Bands LA on Band of Horses
7 months agoIt was kind of director Christopher Wilson to speed up the video for the new Band of Horses single "Knock Knock" — from the first note Ben Bridwell and his South Carolina-based quintet can't wait to get to the next chord. It's the first taste of Band of Horses' forthcoming album "Mirage Rock," due Sept. 18. The album was made with producer Glyn Johns, whose work with artists such as Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Band, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles and Eric Clapton (and on and on) earned him induction into more here
Buzz Bands LA on Band of Horses
7 months ago► Band of Horses visits the Troubadour behind its new album "Mirage Rock." That's the Jason Eberhardt-directed video for "Knock Knock," above. ► Having wrapped up his dates with Desaparecidos, Conor Oberst does a solo show at UCLA's Royce Hall. ► Portland dinde-rockers Menomena bust in to the El Rey Theatre bheind its new album "Moms," with Australia's PVT opening. ► At the Pop Shop West night at the Echo, it's Kisses , Savoir Adore and Blondfire. Also: more here
KCRW's Chris Douridas on Band of Horses
8 months agoPlayed "Electric Music" 09/28/2012 9:09 am
Pitchfork Best Albums on Band of Horses
9 months agoAlbum "Everything All the Time" scored 8.8
Wedding the elemental, earthworn rock of My Morning Jacket or Neil Young to the atmospheric pop of West Coast indie mainstays the Shins and Red House Painters, the debut album from recent Sub Pop sign...
more at pitchfork.comdrownedinsound on Band of Horses
over 5 years agoInstrumentally, subtle use of synths, keyboards and strings now embellish the sharp arrangements and add a new, more mature, depth to the bands sound.more at drownedinsound.com
pitchfork on Band of Horses
over 5 years agoThousands of land-locked miles from the Great Salt Lake, this cross-country change of scenery is subtly apparent: If Everything All the Time was a Pacific Northwest indie album with flourishes of country and Southern rock, then Cease to Begin reverses the equation. Putting a different regional spin on their tender-hearted indie rock, however, doesn't change up the sound too much-- the guitars still churn and crest majestically, Bridwell's vocals still echo with grandiose reverb-- but simply creates an atmosphere evocative of something like autumn in a small town. more at pitchforkmedia.com