mighty band of horses

There are times when I get mad at myself for not finding out about a great band until after they have released an album or two or toured through my neck of the woods (without me seeing them) or a friend tells me about them.  My ego gets bruised a bit in these cases because I want to be the guy telling my friends, or to be blogging about this insane new band that will change the lives of the people that I impart this knowledge to (ok, a little dramatic…or is it?).  The other side of that coin is that when I find out how great a certain band is after they have had a couple of releases, I have even more gold to discover than I would’ve had I been in on the ground floor of this bands climb up the ladder of popularity or critical acclaim.  Examples of these types of bands in the past for me have been from all walks of rock.  Twangy to moody, wannabe classic rock to actual rock that is classic by the time I find out about it.  Emo to just plain whiny (which much of Emo is anyways).  As I type here and simultaneously watch the Austin City Limits episode featuring Wilco (tivo rules!), I can’t help but think that the Great American “Rock Band” is a dying breed, but there is hope!  Bands that have been labeled “Indie-Rock” have been some of the recent success stories to rise from the grass-roots campaigns that cultivate legions of disciples.  Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, and Bright Eyes are some recent examples.  The new member of this club is the excellent and Rock genre-crossing group Band of Horses. 

BOH, lead by Ben Bridwell, is a southern band by way of the pacific northwest.  Their debut album , Everything All the Time (2006), was followed up admirably by Cease to Begin in September 2007.  Both albums provide a prime showcase for Bridwell’s piercing vocals.  His tone cuts through each track to give clarity to the tune, as if a ray of sun is forcing a fog to get out of its way so it can get its shine ON.  Not that the sonics from the band are similar to a fog by any stretch.  BOH employs time changes in their arrangements that build a sense of suspense as you listen intently, waiting for the climactic conclusion.  When a tune can tell a story as effectively as the lyrics can, there is a feeling of completeness that entire albums have a hard time of accomplishing in this day and age of individual track-downloads.  There are many similarities between the two releases, however, Cease to Begin has a looser vibe that takes a few more chances than Everything dared.  Many people are of the opinion that this change in vibe is directly attributed to the bands move from Seattle to South Carolina, which is native terrain for Bridwell.  I can see that in tracks such as “The General Specific” (on their myspace page), which is a “janglier” tune than the other tracks.  I could go on for quite some time and tell you more about what I think the meaning of each track is or what the lyrics remind me of, but I won’t because I care about you and you would be bored, bored real bad, trust me.  What I will tell you is that there are a but a few albums that will genuinely make you feel better, or shift your personal vibe when its cranked up.  Band of Horses has provided 2 of them.  The best “review” I could give is that I can’t wait to get back in my car when BOH is in my player. How many CD’s have you had where you can say that????

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