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Band of Horses Weather the Storm with Songs of Empathy and Endurance on ‘Things Are Great’ | Album Review

March 6, 2022 Justin Chadwick
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Band of Horses
Things Are Great
BMG
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Band of Horses formally emerged by way of their acclaimed debut album Everything All the Time in late March 2006 and in the intervening sixteen years since their inaugural effort materialized, their story has been defined by change. Most notably, the group’s lineup has undergone multiple iterations along the way, while they’ve recorded for multiple record labels (Sub Pop, Columbia, Fat Possum, Interscope) across their five previous studio albums.

However, these career vicissitudes have never compromised the consistency and depth of the Seattle-bred, Charleston-based band’s signature sound. If anything, the winding path they’ve traversed has only served to crystallize frontman Ben Bridwell’s focus and resolve, as is gloriously evinced across their just-released sixth studio affair Things Are Great, the follow-up to 2016’s Why Are You OK and their first long player commissioned by BMG.

Coupled with the shimmering guitar arrangements that have defined the band’s sonic oeuvre to date, Bridwell’s knowing, soaring voice never ceases to reassure in its self-awareness, emotional clarity and resilient grace. There’s an inherent everyman-like candor and humility within his words that draw you in to listen more attentively and empathetically, and Things Are Great showcases this relatability arguably more effectively than any of the group’s preceding albums.

Largely produced by Bridwell and Wolfgang “Wolfie” Zimmerman, the album is thematically centered around the notion of our intrinsically human, psychological inclination toward looking on the brighter side of life (a la Monty Python). Even when confronted with personal hardships or surrounded by a world that’s seemingly crumbling before our eyes, we often try our damndest to convince—or delude—ourselves into believing that, as the album title suggests, things are great.

This cheery supposition is challenged right out of the gate with the opening “Warning Signs,” a melodic meditation about personal unrest. The song is inspired by a 2016 incident that found Bridwell weeping in front of a crowd upon losing his voice on stage in Sydney, Australia, as referenced in the introductory line (“Small talk with a registered nurse / Not to cry in front of people at work / Well that's hard, hard, hard, at times you know”).

Similar sentiments of disenchantment coupled with an underlying sense of endurance pervade the album, manifesting in nuanced forms throughout. With jangly, dream-pop indebted guitar riffs reminiscent of The Cure’s most beloved arrangements, lead single “Crutch” examines the regressive dimensions of relationships that can hold us back, with Bridwell cleverly substituting “crutch” for “crush” in the song’s chorus (“I’ve got a crutch on you”).

Released as the second single, the midtempo “In Need of Repair” reflects a troubled mind yearning for resolution (“It's not еnough, it's not enough / Even in the night I hide from hurt / The ones you love / You only hurt the ones you love / Every day and night, I hide from hurt”).

Standout composition “Tragedy of the Commons” rides a gently lilting arrangement with Bridwell alluding to the current state of socio-political dysfunction that remains maddening for many of us in lines like, “Babe, I'm dog tired / Can I cancel it all? / The hate train, pray that it crashes / Jaded chattering of neo-fascists / The clatter of the ever-warring classes.”

Other notable moments include the astute exploration of abandonment and isolation “In the Hard Times, the insistent and introspective “Ice Night We’re Having,” power-pop rocker “Lights,” and the shapeshifting “Aftermath,” which transforms its opening sparse atmospherics with Bridwell’s vocals at the forefront into a cacophony of gorgeous, clanging guitar work across the song’s final 90 seconds.

Considering that Bridwell scrapped the initial recordings designated for Things Are Great as he deemed them underwhelming, the refinements he and Zimmerman applied have indeed paid dividends in the form of this gem of an album, which ranks among the band’s strongest offerings to date.

Notable Tracks: “Aftermath” | “In Need of Repair” | “Tragedy of the Commons” | “Warning Signs”

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In REVIEW Tags Band of Horses
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