3 reviews and a story

Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

This album is poppy, but not in a bad way. If I was going to represent it visually, the album would be a plate (the album) with 12 southern biscuits on it (the songs), all covered with honey (the harmonies). I use this example partially jokingly because the harmonies on this album are THICK. They work though. There is no "Funeral" on this album, but in my humble opinion, you only get to write one song like that in your lifetime (with a few exceptions, of course). The songs are recorded such that they don't really get heavy even when it seems like it is a heavy part, but I have no doubt that a song like "Dilly" will sound amazing (and will be plenty hard-hitting) live, because I was lucky enough to hear them play it a few months ago. Don't expect to rock out to this album, but it's a great listen.




The National - High Violet

It seems most bloggers and critics were expecting this to be the album that conquered the world, and they were disappointed that it didn't. Even if it didn't, I think "Bloodbuzz Ohio," "Afraid of Everyone," and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" are amazing songs that anchor a very strong album overall. Not unlike BoH above, some want the National to write "Fake Empire" again and again, except more mind-blowing every time. The National seem to just want to make good music, and I think they've done it again here.

If you haven't already, check out their Letterman performance of "Afraid of Everyone", featuring Sufjan Stevens.





Deer Tick - The Black Dirt Sessions

I'm a bit of a latecomer to Deer Tick, having picked up their first two albums in late March. I don't know exactly what to think of them sometimes. From what I know, the band tours constantly, parties hard, and they continue to write great songs. At times it seems like their outward image is an inside joke, where they appear to be an out of control rock band, but they can't say that's what they are doing because it would ruin the image. That's not for me to decide, and it doesn't really matter as long as they write good songs. In short, I like the second half of this album better than the first, with the exception of the second song "Twenty Miles," which is among the best on the record. Besides that opinion, though, I will never again be able to think about this album outside of this one experience:

Approximately a month ago, just after TBDS was released, H. and I were driving through rural west Texas, on a small Farm-to-Market road between Muleshoe and Morton, to be specific (see map below). Basically you see little more than some farm vehicles and meet cars maybe every 5 miles. In short, very little traffic. It just so happens we had been listening to this album, and had just reached the final song "Christ Jesus," which if you haven't heard, is, well, typical Deer Tick. Less than a minute after the song started, we came upon a semi-truck that had written on all sides "Jesus Christ is Lord, not a swear word." The trucks appear to have their origin with these folks (I pasted a picture below), although that is somewhat beside the point. It was a pretty odd experience, feeling a bit like two universes collided in the middle of nowhere and we were the only ones who saw it. So yeah, that's what I'll always think of when I hear this record.


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A picture of a similar truck that I found here.

Band of Horses - Boulder, CO, 03/15/10

In my book, there is really something to be said about artists who were in a band for a long time, and had maybe mediocre success, but at some point, and for any number of reasons, they create a new band with a more focused and polished sound than their original band. Case in point is Band of Horses, fronted by Ben Bridwell, who was formerly in a band called Carissa's Wierd in the 90s and 00s. Do you remember listening to them in the mid-to-late 90s? Probably not, because they never really got much mainstream attention. However, the years Bridwell spent in that band clearly taught him a lot about what he wanted to sound like and the things he needed to be doing to become successful. I think the folks in bands that seemingly aren't going anywhere reach a certain breaking point, and only a select few recognize they don't have that many chances left to make it AND also have the ability to create a "first" album under a new name that simply blows everyone away (see Vernon, Justin).

For a band with only two albums under their belt, Band of Horses is simply one of the best live bands around. As I noted in an earlier post, Band of Horses played the Fox Theatre 3 1/2 years ago, just around the time I moved to Boulder, in support of their only album then, Everything All the Time. For monetary reasons, I couldn't go, and I've regretted that decision since the show was announced. Quite ironically, Bridwell asked the sold out house at the Fox Theatre on Monday night how many of them had been at that show, and an extremely sparse response of a couple of yells and some raised hands were returned. That is to say, Band of Horses has gained some serious notoriety since 2006, clearly evidenced by the two sold out Denver area shows this week.

The Boulder show found BoH playing quite a few songs from their new record, Infinite Arms (May 18, on Brown/Fat Possum/Columbia) for which the album art has just recently been released. I have to say I'm quite excited to hear it, as the songs were very well received and fit very nicely with the band's current set list. (pic from the show here) For 90 minutes the band enthralled the packed house with energetic performances of a good portion of their catalog. It may be their most well-known song, and the main one that the half-assed fans were there to see, but if you haven't already, you need to add "hearing Band of Horses play 'The Funeral' live" to your bucket list. Yes, it's as good as you might imagine.

Returning to my original thought, I simply have a really strong appreciation for artists who construct such a clear and cohesive vision for their work that you never say "I wish they had done...." It doesn't really matter if someone finds that artistic place at 21 or 35, although I think the more time that goes into it, the better the product will be over the long term. Band of Horses are steadily producing a body of work that is going to keep them quite popular for a long time, and I feel fortunate to have gotten to see them in a small theater setting like the Fox, as their time in this type of intimate venue may be limited. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to get in to see them at SXSW this year, unless you are a major VIP, but you should take the opportunity to see them live when you have the chance.

I've been waiting for this...

for over three years. Quick back story: When we first moved to Boulder, we were most excited about the music scene in the area and had hopes of seeing many bands that of course never came through Lubbock. The first problem in all of that was that we had just moved to Boulder, so we didn't really have money to be going to live shows.

This was September 2006, and Band of Horses played a Tuesday night show at the Fox that we ultimately decided we couldn't make it to. We had started to like their one and only album (at the time) quite a bit, and had listened to it on our drive from Texas, but apparently they hadn't quite assumed "can't miss" status. I'm sure we said "oh they'll be back again before long." That turned out to somewhat untrue. I think they have probably played Denver a time or two since then, but for one reason or another, we never made it to those. Now, finally, they return to the place where we missed them the first time, much more popular than they were then, but hopefully not an instant sellout type of popular.


















(Image: SF Weekly)

Monday, March 15 - Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO

Tuesday, March 16 - Ogden Theater, Denver, CO

I think the admission price has doubled since 2006, but that's a small price to pay for making up for missed opportunities. Presumably these shows are being played en route to Austin for SXSW to do promotions for a new record. Hopefully we'll make it to that too and see them about 14 more times in the same week.