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Band of Horses "Infinite Arms" Respectable but Predictable |
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Written by VANESSA MIRABILE
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Tuesday, 18 May 2010 |
The third album of South Carolina’s indie darlings Band of Horses has just hit the stores. Currently a five-piece lineup of Bridwell, Ryan Monroe, Tyler Ramsey, Bill Reynolds and Creigton Barrett, the somewhat newly formed band hit it big with its debut album “Everything All the Time” and the single “Funeral” back in 2006. Distinguished by its airy vocals, folksy-guitar harmonies and riffs, the new release entitled Infinite Arms continues their familiar organic alt-country feel of what the band is all about, but exudes an uneasy sensation of something missing.
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Band of Horses
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"Infinite Arms"
(Columbia Records)
Released May 18, 2010
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I admit I’ve never been a die-hard Band of Horses fan, but still got hooked in on both of their previous albums back at the time. With their immediately likeable tunes “Funeral,” “Is There a Ghost” and “No One’s Gonna Love You,” I was curious to find out what the band would have up their sleeves. I jumped into “Infnite Arms” thinking “this will be easy;” only to find disappointment realizing that the magic isn’t quite there this time.
The album starts on a high note, with the opener “Factory,” arguably the album’s best track. The following “Compliments” displays fun, punctuated beats, and intense backvocals resulting in a unique but still quite easy sound to digest. The ballad “Blue Beard” seems to be the last breath of fresh air before the somewhat claustrophobic pop-vibe takes over towards the middle of the album.
The track “Infinite Arms” called my attention due to its similarity to Bowie’s “Space Oddity” in it’s chord progression in the beginning, but quickly continued to drag the album towards exhaustion, as all of the rest of the songs felt like they were bundled together into a sugary pop fest. The pulse is back in the last two songs “NW Apt.” and the track “Neighbor,” that builds up to a crescendo that leads to a fine but predictable album closure.
It’s not to say it’s a bad album, but it doesn’t have the immediate draw as their previous material. Respectful but without an edge, “Infinite Arms” seems to be just one more indie pop-rock album out there.
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