Band of Horses
Everything All The Time
Sub Pop
Somebody’s been listening to My Morning Jacket. Two kids from the recently deceased mopey, string-heavy Seattle outfit, Carissa’s Wierd (’96 -’03), decided it was time to stop shufflin’ and draggin’ their feet, kick up the reverb to max and let the power chords flow. Originally calling themselves “Horses,” Benjamin Bridwell (vocals/guitar) and Mat Brooke (guitar) recruited a band of fellow northwest coast indie heroes, infusing their fragile roots and newfound crisp melodies for one epic tale of American rock that shoots soul-rocking sonic bullets so smoothly, you won’t even know you’re bleeding; which is why this album is repeat-button friendly.
And oh my will you bleed. “The Funeral”, the track that took to the blog world with hauntingly ferocious tenacity is the epitome of their punch and go, charge and flow style; Bridwell slams and layers a shrill, morbid refrain, “At every occasion I’m ready for a funeral,” only to strip down to a 12th fret finger-pluck standstill, lifting you up on your toes … crooning … crooning – hammering it home. Same goes for “The Great Salt Lake”; majestic reverb kicked into full-band, wound-forging rhythmic resonation.
Everything All The Time, the Band of Horses’ first full-length effort, only fails when it comes to what it does best – weaving the highs and the lows. A double-edge sword, the swift charges and grand structures can get to be a little expected. But there are plenty of Earth-deep, acoustic spliced journeys on here to rock and cut you fresh and proper.
