Artist: Band of Horses
Label: Sub Pop
Copyright: 2006
ASIN: B000E6GBV2
Description and Critical Evaluation
Band of Horses has two modes—driving rhythm, thick instrumentation, and heavy reverb (which often make the lyrics hard to understand), and slow and intimate. Everything All the Time, their first album, is about evenly split between these two modes; several songs alternate between them. I’m partial to the slower songs, which tend to have a beautiful wistful quality to them, but the more energetic ones provide needed balance. Regardless of the mode, lead singer Ben Bridwell pours his soul into his singing. He’s not the most nuanced singer I’ve ever heard—he belts out almost every song—but he has a great voice and an admirable intensity to his singing. After a while the songs begin to sound pretty similar. The guitar often emerges prominently out of the texture, playing pretty riffs that are usually repeated too long with too little variation. Nevertheless, there are a lot of great songs here.
The first track on the album, called simply “The First Song,” features the lush sound of ringing guitars. Though it starts slowly, there are sections of driving rhythm, and the words are obscured. “Wicked Gil,” the second track, has a sound to match its title—the heavy bass guitar and frequent cymbal clashes combine to produce an evil (or at least nasty) mood. Track 4, “The Funeral,” opens with a repeated guitar riff with fancy little slides. This motif alternates with loud, driving sections. In some of the quiet sections, band members sing harmony on the syllable “ooh.” (Nonsense syllables crop up frequently in Band of Horses’ lyrics—when they run out of words they tend to switch to “ooh” or “la-di-da.”) “Part One” is the first of the true slow songs, with a wistful sound and lyrics: “I didn’t know you/Everything I do/Done badly.” “The Great Salt Lake” is a standout, one of the most memorable songs on the album. It picks up the momentum again, with words that are somewhat easier to make out but nonsensical (or poetic, depending on your point of view):
Back of the boat was painted wrecking ballIn “I Go to the Barn Because I Like The,” close vocal harmony takes center stage. In the foreground is the whispery harmony line, with Bridwell’s usual ringing sound behind on melody. It’s a beautiful effect and a beautiful tune. “Monsters” has a distinctly Southern feel. Sounding vaguely reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” one of the guitars imitates a banjo and another contributes electric slide effects. Although this is a nice combination, at over five minutes the song is too long. The last track, “St. Augustine,” is my favorite. The two-line vocals are done in the same style as in “Barn,” though here there are long stretches of unison singing and occasional three-part harmony. The lyrics, melody, and acoustic guitar accompaniment are all lovely:
There was country music playing but he don't like it all
And red fire poppin’ on the rained-down woody
There was whiskey bottle spilling and a lake it was made of salt.
If I stayed behind
Would you let your hair grow?
I will forget
The favors that you owe
I'm dreaming of car wrecks and thunderstorms bright
Let's bury ourselves
And go haunt someone tonight
I know you tried
I know you're cursed
I know your best was still your worst
When hollywood was calling out your name
Saint Augustine...My only complaint is that it is too short.
Why is this title included?
This album will appeal to teens who like their rock thoughtful but intense. It's also a good choice for teens whose tastes aren't too adventurous, but who don't want to listen to the same old radio selection everyone else does.