I remember, in my days of rabidly devouring other people’s music reviews instead of writing my own, seeing a particularly dismissive writer flippantly refer to then-upstarts Band of Horses as “My Morning Jacketless”, both linking the band to Jim James’ more-respected group and taking the piss by writing BoH off as inferior also-rans. This would, perhaps, be a more legitimate position to take these days, in an alternate timeline where BoH’s first two records were stricken from memory and we were forced to judge them on their highly suspect latter-day output, which ranges from “sure, whatever” to downright bad. But in 2006 and 2007 — a pair of high-water years for American indie rock, for this writer’s money — Band of Horses managed to, at the very least, equal MMJ’s output, boasting a sound that implied that MMJ fans would enjoy them as well without slavishly aping the more successful band’s style.
The quartet’s debut record, Everything All the Time, certainly brings the comparison upon itself — the heavily reverbed vocals, the big guitars and bustling drums, the general sense of expanse, the haze of weed hanging lazily in the atmosphere — but it feels fresh on its own terms, too. I think the “jam band” tag MMJ so often draws may be the difference maker; Band of Horses, for whatever reason, aren’t very prone to lengthy instrumental flights of fancy, and so songs feel tight even as they meander. Which, in this instance, isn’t even a slight against them: BoH’s brand of “meandering” is actually quite endearing. They take their time with their vocals, let them lazily tumble out instead of spitting rapid-fire verses, and the reverb allows them to drift in the air; those languid, lovely chords that open up the first song — entitled, uh, “The First Song” — are, by and large, all you need to know to decide if you’ll like the record.
A textbook “mood record”, Everything All the Time gets a lot of traction out of its tighter numbers that lie beneath the shimmering guitars and reverbed vocals. The moment that “The Funeral” springs forth, announcing its arrival with a gentle arpeggiated guitar and a high, lilting Ben Bridwell vocal, it becomes clear that Band of Horses are an outfit that can accommodate the moods as well as the moments; that intro, the chorus, the senses of longing and sadness and weird insta-nostalgia… “The Funeral” is an A+ modern indie rock song. (Also, “on every occasion I’m ready for a funeral” is the best line Ben Bridwell has ever penned, bar none; what a sad, wry, potent lyric.)
And when BoH pare things back, as they do on closer “St. Augustine”, they prove themselves adept at a folksier style; their Southern charm and laid-back style make their rockers appealingly lackadaisical, but there’s an inherent beauty in a track like “Augustine”, an evocative, wistful lullaby with no designs on frills, bells or whistles.
Band of Horses would go on to make one more excellent record, one okay record, and one bad record; as they distance themselves further from the sound that defined them, the returns diminish, but Everything All the Time is a perfect encapsulation of what the indie-rock record sounded like in 2006. The tunes and the atmosphere make this one essential.
Playlist track: “The Funeral”
Drew's Album of the Day 