Band of Horses: Don’t Call It a Comeback, a Review(ish) Look at Things Are Great
When an artist comes out of the gates swinging hard like Band of Horses did with Everything All the Time (2006) and Cease to Begin (2007), it’s difficult not to compare a band’s latest album against its finest predecessors. These albums produced legit hits like “The Funeral,” and “No One’s Gonna Love You,” which was used in countless TV shows, movies, and commercials. “No One’s Gonna Love You” was even covered several times by the likes of Cee-Lo Green and opera star Renee Fleming. In addition to their success with the masses and having their songs used as emotional shorthand in visual works, these albums were also highly praised by taste maker publications like Pitchfork, giving them an 8.8 and 7.7 respectively. Everything All the Time also earned the coveted “Best New Music” designation from Pitchfork.
It is difficult to maintain that level of success and critical acclaim for anyone, but especially for a young band and Band of Horses found themselves slipping both in the eyes of listeners and critics. Not that any of the three following albums were bad per se, but none of them came close to attaining the lofty heights of the first two records.
September 30, 2021. We’re deep into the pandemic and I’m itching to go to live shows. Band of Horses announced a show at Avondale Brewing Company and while I wasn’t totally in love with their last two albums, the first two were absolute bangers and their third album, Infinite Arms, had some great tunes on it even if the album itself wasn’t quite up to their previous standard. I figured the live show was probably going to rip like it always has so I secured a ticket. About halfway into their set, singer/songwriter/guitarist Ben Bridwell announced a new song, “Lights” and said they’ve got a new album coming out in the new year (their first in six years by the time of its arrival.) “Lights” really perked my ears up and made me hopeful for the arrival of a batch of new tunes.
The new year arrived and Band of Horses’ sixth album, Things Are Great, was released on March 4. I like to spend several weeks or more with an album before speaking about it at length.
The first notes of album opener “Warning Signs” grabbed my attention immediately. It sounded like a real return to form. Not that it was a rehash of earlier material, it just had that energy and spark that wasn’t always present on the last few albums. That trademark sound that endeared them to so many as it were. “Crutch” would be a massive hit in a just world. It’s got the perfect combo of shoegaze-y reverb, driving percussion, and a catchy as hell chorus.
“Tragedy of the Commons” slows things down and shows Bridwell’s gift for making a slow, swirling tune sound sweet on the surface while containing a couplet like,
Stick out your neck for somebody else
And they laugh in your face like, go fuck yourself
As a personality and a bandleader, that’s always been part of Bridwell’s charm: a great sense of melody and his ability to write a big hook or a heart tugging song while occasionally throwing in a jarring lyric like that juxtaposed against a gentler melody.
“In Need of Repair” is vintage Bridwell: anthemic chorus that swells out of a slinky melody with his trademark howl over the top. “Ice Night We’re Having” is another highlight. Just an unstoppable shuffling beat that belies some of the heavy lyrics.
I don’t want to call it a comeback, because they never went away, but I hope folks will revisit Band of Horse’s phenomenal return to form on this album. I’m really looking forward to hearing this material live at some point.
