Band of Horses- Infinite Arms

Alright all biases aside, I love Band of Horses. Looking at my music collection, you’ll most likely be able to tell that I have a love for Southern rock and true country music, especially alt-country. Thusly Band of Horses are right up my alley. I first heard them by a suggestion and a quick grab of their cd from a now defunct local record store before a road trip. I listened to the first track aptly named “The First Song” and never really made it past that until about a year later when I gave the whole album the once through and absolutely fell in love. Worried they might be a one album band I waited to listen to their second until I felt I had fully absorbed the first.
When I finally got around to the second I was impressed, slower, quiet songs on the second half of the album but the band was sure to keep the listener on their toes by throwing in perhaps the best track on the album “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands” late on the record. Maintaining the important balance between the fast and slow paced songs on the b-side of the album.

After these two my hopes were clearly very high for “Infinite Arms” being patient past all the leaks to finally grab the vinyl the day it came out. I must say though, I’m let down.

The album starts out strong, with a song we’ve expected from Band of Horses keeping their usual upbeat rock tune, but from there it kind of lets down. The band has always played larger venues from their start, they are by most regards, a modern day arena-rock band, not in the sense of Poison or Metallica though, it’s a closer relation to the concerts of Lynyrd Skynyrd, lead Ben Bridwell often sporting a cowboy hat and always a beard that would make the most grizzly backwoodsman proud. And there surely were those arena rock songs on their past records, look at “The Great Salt Lake,” “Weed Party,” or the aforementioned “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”, I mean they are on tour with Pearl Jam right now if those don’t clairify the point for you. Regardless, I found myself waiting for that turn-the-volume-up-all-the-way track on the album as I gave it the once through, but it never came.

Bridwell gave up the sole songwriting duties for this record, which may be to blame. There are a few standout tracks however, looking at my personal favorite, formally named “Bartles + James” renamed “Neighbor” for the albums final release, it is the track that I could see myself listening to the most. It’s a Ford F-150, nighttime drive song, for those who can relate to that. The band has always had a track late, or last on the album that had Bridwell’s hushed vocals over minimal music and those have always been stand out tracks, I’m glad to see they kept with this tradition at least on “Infinite Arms” overall though, I am a bit disappointed—Perhaps my hopes were too high, or perhaps this album will just take some growing on me.. only time will tell.


STREAMING SONG REMOVED BY REQUEST