Band Of Horses - Albums Collection 2006-2014 (5CD)

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Band Of Horses - Albums Collection 2006-2014 (5CD)

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Emerging in 2004 with a blend of woodsy midtempo rock and reverb-laden vocals, Band of Horses gained an audience in their native Northwest before Everything All the Time made them indie rock darlings. Multi-instrumentalists Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke founded the group after an eight-year run with Carissa's Wierd, and an early concert alongside future labelmates Iron & Wine caught the attention of Sub Pop Records. Sub Pop signed Band of Horses in 2005 and reissued their self-released EP later that year, while the band retreated to the studio to record its full-length debut. Everything All the Time appeared in March 2006 and was warmly received; however, Brooke did not tour in support of the album and had officially left the group by July, choosing instead to devote his time to another Sub Pop act, Grand Archives. Bridwell soldiered on with now-permanent bandmates Rob Hampton (bass) and Creighton Barrett (drums), playing stateside shows and touring Europe in support of the band's debut.

The bandmembers returned to the States and relocated to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, to be closer to their families. Soon after, Band of Horses entered the studio with producer Phil Ek (who also helmed Everything All the Time) to record their second album. Cease to Begin was released in October 2007 to extremely warm reviews; it also peaked at number 35 on the Billboard charts, giving the band a taste of commercial success as well as critical approval. Although Band of Horses spent most of the following two years on the road, they also found time to return to the recording studio, where they began working on a third album in 2009.

This time, the band's five members all contributed to the songwriting process, making Infinite Arms a collaborative effort between Bridwell, Barrett, and new members Ryan Monroe, Tyler Ramsey, and Bill Reynolds. The album hit shelves in mid-2010, marking the band's first effort for Columbia Records and earning a Grammy for its country-rock sound. Preferring to take a more grounded approach on their fourth long-player, the group tapped legendary producer Glyn Johns (the Rolling Stones, The Who), who helped to rein in some of the group's more experimental tendencies by insisting on a more intimate live approach. The resulting Mirage Rock, which was preceded by the single "Knock, Knock," arrived in September 2012. Early 2014 saw the release of live album Acoustic at the Ryman, a compilation of tracks recorded in a stripped-down fashion during a two-night stint in the spring of 2013 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

While working on material for their fifth studio album, Bridwell teamed with fellow Columbia, South Carolina native Sam Beam of Iron & Wine to release a covers album titled Sing Into My Mouth in 2015. The record featured common song influences from the likes of Talking Heads, John Cale, and Sade. In the spring of 2016, Band of Horses debuted a new single, "Casual Party," from their forthcoming fifth studio LP, Why Are You OK? Released in June of that year via Interscope and Rick Rubin's American Recordings, the album was co-produced by Grandaddy's Jason Lytle with Rubin acting as executive producer.

Biography by Andrew Leahey, Allmusic.com

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Band Of Horses - Albums Collection 2006-2014 (5CD)

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Band Of Horses - Albums Collection 2006-2014 (5CD)

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Band of Horses is the phoenix ascending from the carcass of Carissa's Wierd, Ben Bridwell and Matt Brooke's former band. (But what happened to the proposed November 16th?) While the penchant for beautiful melody is present everywhere here, that's pretty much where the similarity between both groups stops. Whereas their former project centered itself on slower-than-codeine-cough-syrup-on-a-cold-day, lushly textured sad-pop, Band of Horses is a full-on indie rock band that writes loud, raw, mid-tempo pop songs and really loves Neil Young. Gone are the slow, layered, weepy, singly tempoed songs of heartbreak and loss. No more violins, no more space, no more, no more. Bridwell's vocals are stretched here (and they could be mistaken for Wayne Coyne's or a young Young's on first listen), but he and Brooke have a different m.o. on their new project. They play a plethora of instruments between them, from banjos to pedal steels and piano, and Chris Early pays bass along with an assortment of drummers that includes touring kit man Tim Meining (though Sera Cahoone (another ex-Clarissa's) sits in the chair on about half this set).

The ramped-up electric guitars are a welcome wind blowing through this heavier, denser music. Check the dreamy Chris Bell-meets-Crazy Horse "First Song" or the snare-popping "Wicked Gil," with a killer six-string finale. "Funeral"'s dynamic hints at something less meaty but then kicks into gear. It's nearly anthemic. There are more meditative moments, though. The country-ish "Part One" is acoustic and tender. But "The Great Salt Lake," which follows it, is simply majestic. There is a Beach Boys melody in here somewhere (perhaps something extrapolated from "Sloop John B"?) and Bridwell's vocal warbles dangerously close to B. Wilson's, but is much murkier – a more blissed-out, distorted jangle-fest. "Weed Party" is a silly, raucous country-rocker that crosses the Byrds with latter-day Hüsker Dü. The closer is the spare, meditative "St. Augustine"; it's as beautiful as Young's "Through My Sails," from Zuma. Everything All the Time isn't a perfect album. It gets a little long in the tooth in places and samey-sounding. The exuberance is the mirror image of Carissa's Wierd's downer reserve; it's as if the fellas were trying really hard – perhaps a little too hard – to distance themselves from their previous incarnation. Nonetheless, it's a decent first effort that warrants repeated listening.

Review by Thom Jurek, Allmusic.com

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Band Of Horses - Albums Collection 2006-2014 (5CD)

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When Band of Horses surfaced in 2006 with Everything All the Time, the band's rugged take on rock & roll drew quick parallels to My Morning Jacket and early Neil Young. That's mighty nice company for a young band, but co-founder Mat Brooke nevertheless left the lineup that same summer, choosing to blaze his own trail with Grand Archives instead. Ben Bridwell, Brooke's musical partner for nearly a decade, was left in control of Horses – a daunting position for the former Carissa's Weird bassist, but one that ultimately resulted in a sophisticated, mature, and altogether superior follow-up. Cease to Begin is the responsible adult to Time's reckless teenager, with Bridwell pitting his high, clear tenor against backdrops of hazy indie rock and campfire singalongs. While tracks like "Weed Party" showed the band having harmless (albeit adolescent) fun on their debut, the good times on Cease to Begin are more grown-up: a lo-fi, foot-stomping pop ditty ("The General Specific"), a brief interlude of instrumental watercolors ("Lamb on the Lam [In the City]"), a detour into twangy country ("Marry Song"). Those looking for more anthemic rock will gravitate toward kickoff track "Is There a Ghost," where the guitars are loud and Bridwell's vocals are candy-coated in reverb, but Cease to Begin shines it brightest under the twilight glow of "Detlef Schrempf." Historically, Schrempf was a German-born NBA basketball player with killer three-point accuracy – and while that's certainly an odd choice for a song title, it's easy to forget as drums beat a lazy rhythm beneath Bridwell's falsetto. Who knows whether he's singing to a hometown, a loved one, or his favorite member of the Seattle SuperSonics? It's still a thrilling listen, and the subtle humor hints that Band of Horses isn't growing up too quickly.

Review by Andrew Leahey, Allmusic.com

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Featuring a new lineup, a rather loose definition of Americana, and funding from a major label, Band of Horses' third album is a game changer. What began as a partnership between Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke has since blossomed into a five-piece band, with Bridwell serving as the only link between the group's 2006 debut, Everything All the Time, and the present. It's only natural, then, that Infinite Arms sounds wholly different from the albums that came before it, both of which mixed guitar-driven rock with dusty, jangled folk. There's still plenty of folk to be found here, and Band of Horses bang their way through "Compliments" as a concession to their rock fans. Infinite Arms is a borderline pop album, though, dressed up in flannel and facial hair to disguise the fact that these melodies are, with few exceptions, the sweetest of the group's career. There are harmonies galore, including thick, Sacred Harp-type triads that beef up Bridwell's vocals while drawing parallels to Fleet Foxes and the Beach Boys. At times, it's hard to separate Band of Horses from their influences; "Blue Beard," although downright gorgeous, cops its verse from Smile-era Brian Wilson and its bridge from the Starland Vocal Band, and "Older" sounds like the country-rock single Gram Parsons never wrote. But the album's willingness to sample from so many different genres – roots, soft rock, alt.country, power pop, indie folk – makes it sound like nothing else in 2010, and Band of Horses connect the dots by layering everything with canyon-worthy reverb and cinematic guitars. For those who let it sink in, Infinite Arms could be a contender for the year's best summer album, not to mention the band's most cohesive record to date.

Review by Andrew Leahey, Allmusic.com

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After key Band of Horses influence Neil Young experienced his commercial peak with Harvest – the 1972 country rock cornerstone – he famously reflected that it had put him in the middle of the road and that he soon “headed for the ditch.” On Mirage Rock – the follow-up to the Ben Bridwell-fronted act’s Grammy-nominated, game-changing 2010 release, Infinite Arms – Band of Horses keep a safe distance from the ditch with the help of producer Glyn Johns. As it happens, he’s the very man who helped the 1972-1973 period Eagles lineup hone their saccharine, radio-friendly and harmony-laden sound while Young was exploring comparatively rugged and less-traveled terrain. Seemingly enlisted to consolidate the success of the self-produced Infinite Arms, Johns brings a great deal of experience to Mirage Rock. Production-wise, while Infinite Arms was layered and cavernous, Mirage Rock has a heart-on-sleeve immediacy to it, borne out of Johns’ insistence that the band deliver well-rehearsed live takes of much of the material. However, while their third record flowed effortlessly, the ebb of Mirage Rock is, to some extent, compromised by an earnest attempt to showcase the band’s eclecticism. The strong opening trio of tracks – the pounding, lo -fi indie rock of “Knock Knock,” the striking Jayhawks-inspired country pop of “How to Live,” and the laid-back, melancholic West Coast haze of “Slow Cruel Hands of Time” – are contrasting but inspired choices for the album’s front end. However, the mid-set “Dumpster World” – sonically closer to a pastiche of George Martin’s America than the Eagles – has its understated sarcasm crushed by a chugging alt-rock mid-section. Similarly, while Bridwell’s uptempo and overtly political “Feud” approximates Graham Nash fronting the Foo Fighters, it sits awkwardly between the bluegrass-tinged “Everything’s Gonna Be Undone” and the truly beautiful, strolling Buffalo Springfield nod “Long Vows.” All in all, though, it’s the pros that outweigh the cons here. Bridwell’s natural gift for melody is given room to shine throughout and is complemented by some of the finest, most spine-tingling harmonies among the band and their contemporaries. There’s also a playful sense of humor evident here on tracks such as “A Little Biblical,” which can sometimes be lacking in the music of Fleet Foxes, Kings of Leon, and their ilk. In addition, Bridwell shows that he can match Robin Pecknold lyrically on “Slow Cruel Hands of Time,” a sincere, heartfelt rumination on growing old that takes in the grandeur of “the sky…in the yard” and the minutiae of stumbling across “a big city man” he used “to rumble with…back in high school.” Overall, though, while Mirage Rock sees Band of Horses further immerse themselves in Americana, more than anything it finds them enraptured by the simple joy of music-making. “Electric Music” – a freewheeling slice of Stones/Creedence-inspired rock – encapsulates this premise and finds them “traveling the open road” without a ditch in sight.

Review by James Wilkinson, Allmusic.com

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Band Of Horses - Albums Collection 2006-2014 (5CD)

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The always haunting indie rock gone alt-country sounds of Band of Horses come under a microscope on the gentle ten-song collection Acoustic at the Ryman. Culled from entire sets recorded over a two-night stand at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in the spring of 2013, the album boils down the performances into a compact presentation of their best moments. Glorious harmonies, acoustic piano, and twangy, woodsy guitars breathe new life into songs like "Older" and "No One's Gonna Love You." Though drummer Creighton Barrett is present for the dates, the drums are so understated (if played at all) that they fade into a far-off background, making more space for the lush tones of vocal and guitar interplay. With the same soft rock moods of America, the Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, or American Beauty-era Grateful Dead, the decreased volume leaves the songs every bit as moody and ominous as their more electric studio versions, but far clearer. Even their relentlessly dark 2006 hit "The Funeral" takes on a particular gentleness and focus that was lost in the layers of reverb and tough rock dynamics of the original.

Review by Fred Thomas, Allmusic.com