Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
2010
| Brown Records/Fat Possum/Columbia Format I Own it on: Compact Disc Track Listing: 1. Factory 2. Compliments 3. Laredo 4. Blue Beard 5. On My Way Back Home 6. Infinite Arms 7. Dilly 8. Evening Kitchen 9. Older 10. For Annabelle 11. NW Apt 12. Neighbor The band's third album is even folksier and more laid-back than before. Indie-rock is further de-emphasized as the country, classic rock, and soft rock touches become even more prominent. My first couple of listens to this album were a little underwhelming, and it seemed somewhat dull compared to the first two albums, but I kept playing it and now I like it as much, if not more than "Cease to Begin." I can't even fathom what I had initially heard, there's so many excellent songs and beautiful harmonies...Man, is "Older" gorgeous. Same goes for the lush "Factory" and unassuming indie-rock of "Laredo," which would have fit in beautifully on "Cease to Begin."  Hell, "Blue Beard" is nearly yacht-rock in its smoothness...the harmony tag at the end ("Take a little time, gonna roll the dice...") sounds like Wilson-Phillips, but I love it anyway...Do I have some deep-seated love of Wilson-Phillips I was previously unaware of?  Perhaps... I did always have a thing for big luscious shoulder pads...It's pretty unfair they put the hot chicks on a rock up front and tried to fool the world by dressing Carnie up as a man and making her stand in the back...She does cut a dashing figure though...A sort of John Wayne ruggedness... Actually, listening to "Blue Beard" makes me think the band has been studying the Fleet Foxes lately...especially that harmony at the beginning. "On My Way Back Home" betrays the same influence. But it's not all slow stuff, the band also tries on some more uptempo pop-rock on "Dilly" and "NW Apt" that help keep things moving...  Oh yea...And what do you serve your guests while you're listening to Band of Horse's "Infinite Arms?" Why, what else but...  ...Now & Laters...  ...and some Bartles & Jaymes...(cos they don't need no first names...) Like I said, I enjoyed the hell out of this album. I know there was some sort of backlash against the band right around this time, but I wouldn't worry about that.. I think it just finally sunk in with everyone that they were listening to the modern equivalent of the Eagles or something and it freaked them out...but really the band was just doing what it had done all along...They never claimed to be some edgy indie-band...They've always been smooth and hummable and the band delivers another solid album that makes for some great late night listening...Here, take another quick look at the front cover... There! That's about the time of day to listen to this! It's probably their quietest yet, but a few patient listens reveals what is probably their sweetest batch of great songs... So let's stay up until the crack of dawn, sipping wine coolers, shooting the shit, growing our beards and listening to"Laredo." Ejoy... ("Ejoy" is "Enjoy" spelled incorrectly...I just thought I'd liven things up around here....) |
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