Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has been the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also includes longtime member Creighton Barrett (drums) alongside Matt Gentling (bass, backing vocals), Brett Nash (guitar, backing vocals), and Joel Graves (keyboards, guitar).
For ten years, the band's most stable line-up featured guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bassist Bill Reynolds, who recorded and performed with the band between 2007 and 2017, before acrimoniously departing.
To date, the band has released six studio albums: Everything All the Time (2006), Cease to Begin (2007), Infinite Arms (2010), Mirage Rock (2012), Why Are You OK (2016) and Things Are Great (2022), with Infinite Arms being nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011.
History
Formation and Everything All the Time (2004–2006)
Ben Bridwell (vocals, guitar) formed Band of Horses, who were briefly known simply as Horses, in 2004 after the break-up of his previous band, Carissa's Wierd, along with bassist Chris Early and drummer Tim Meinig. They were soon joined by former Carissa's Wierd bandleader Mat Brooke (guitar, vocals).Tom Scanlon, For Band of Horses, Block Party is just one stop in whirlwind year Seattle Times – July 28, 2006 The band initially received attention from Sub Pop after opening for Iron & Wine during Seattle area shows. In 2005, the band released the Tour EP, which was sold at shows and on Sub Pop's website.
Their first full-length album, Everything All the Time, was recorded in 2005 with producer Phil Ek and released by Sub Pop on March 21, 2006. It features the band's original four-piece lineup, although both Tim Meinig and Sera Cahoone receive drumming credits.[ Everything All The Time, Credits] Allmusic The album included new versions of five of the six songs from the Tour EP along with five new songs. It was a minor hit in Scandinavia, entering the lower reaches of the Sweden and Norway album charts.Everything All the Time Ultratop entry – Ultratop Ben Bridwell explained, "I thought before recording that I really wanted an ELO-sounding record, with strings and keyboards and synths, but then, as we got closer to it, we wanted to take a more raw approach."Matt Ryan, Band Of Horses: Confidence Men Magnet – July 23, 2006
Bridwell found that there was a personality clash between himself and Meinig and Early and the two left soon after the recording of the album. Ben explained his side of the story: "All of a sudden I was...with two guys I didn't really even know...they were nice guys, there just wasn't a personality match."Jonny Cazzola, Music: Band of Horses Fused Magazine – October 15, 2008 For the subsequent tour, Joe Arnone (guitar and keyboards), Rob Hampton (bass and guitar) and Creighton Barrett (drums) were brought in to play with Bridwell and Brooke.
Everything All the Times first single was "The Funeral", which has been used in numerous television series, films, video games, and advertisements. On July 13, 2006, the band performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman without Brooke, who had left the band.Justin Sheppard, Band of Horses loses Mat Brooke prefixmag.com – July 26, 2006 Subsequently, he formed Grand Archives, who have since signed to Sub Pop and released two albums. Brooke explained how he joined Band of Horses: "So they ended up getting a show opening up for Iron and Wine in Seattle and Ben asked if I would just come up and do a couple songs, just 'cause we're friends. So...I did that. It was fun and then a couple of Iron and Wine tours came up...and then next thing I knew, we were in the studio making a record for Sub Pop." On why he left, he said, "I'd never really given the commitment to be a formal member. It was just a spur of the moment...and Everything All the Time took off really fast...I still didn't feel quite committed. It was still 100 percent Ben's project and I kinda wanted to see what else I could do."Stephen Seigel, "Volume and Vigor" Tucson Weekly – June 19, 2008
Cease to Begin (2007–2009) Before recording their second album, Bridwell decided to relocate the band from Seattle to his native South Carolina.Band of Horses Interview Mountain 7 Blog – March 14, 2008 (Interview originally published in 2006) He said, "We were touring so much that nowhere was really home, so I figured...if I'm gonna come home after these long stretches of traveling, it would nice to be around my family."Simon Harper, Band of Horses interview Clash – May 19, 2010
Band of Horses toured Europe and North America in 2007, prior to the release of their second album. Joe Arnone was no longer part of the band, which now toured as a six-piece band following the addition of Matt Gentling (Archers of Loaf – bass), Robin Peringer (Modest Mouse, Carissa's Wierd – guitar) and Ryan Monroe (keyboards) to the line up. The album, Cease to Begin, was recorded in Asheville, North Carolina and produced by Phil Ek. It was released by Sub Pop Records on October 9, 2007. The album features the core trio of Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett and Rob Hampton, with keyboards played by Ryan Monroe. Cease to Begin gave Band of Horses their first hit in the U.S. by reaching number 35 on the Billboard 200 and was also a hit in Norway, Denmark, France and Sweden.Cease to Begin Ultratop entry – Ultratop It was voted ninth best album of 2007 by Paste magazineSigns of Life 2007 : Best Music Paste, Issue 38 – December 2007 and 47th best by Rolling Stone. The single "No One's Gonna Love You" gave Band of Horses their first European hit single, reaching number 22 in Denmark.
Following the release of Cease to Begin, Monroe became a permanent member of the band, along with new recruits Tyler Ramsey (guitar and vocals) and Bill Reynolds (bass). This once again made Band of Horses a six-piece band. In addition to his role in the band, Ramsey often performed solo as the opening act before the band play live.
In 2008, Band of Horses played at the Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park, the Bridge School Benefit concert, and the Roskilde Festival.
Infinite Arms (2010–2011)
In May 2009, producer Phil Ek stated that he was recording the third Band of Horses album in North Carolina.Bob Noble, Phil Ek Interview HitQuarters – May 25, 2009 Ben Bridwell mentioned that the new album was titled Night Rainbows several times while introducing new songs during the band's summer 2009 tour,Jessica Dean, Band of Horses tramples Charlotte, NC (6/17) Consequence of Sound – June 20, 2009 but in a March 2, 2010 interview, the band revealed that the album was to be called Infinite Arms.Amy Phillips, Band of Horses Announce New Album Pitchfork Media – March 2, 2010 Prior to the recording of the album, Rob Hampton left the band. He was later replaced by Swedish guitarist Ludwig Böss, although Böss does not appear on the album and on March 19, 2010, it was revealed that he too had left.Ludwig Böss no longer in Band of Horses It's a Trap! Scandinavian music journal – March 19, 2010 (Links to Swedish language article: Ludwig Böss tvingas lämna Band of Horses ) The album was recorded by the five-piece lineup of Bridwell, Ramsey, Reynolds, Barrett, and Monroe.
Infinite Arms was released worldwide between May 14 and 19, 2010 on the Columbia, Brown, and Fat Possum labels. Aside from the North Carolina sessions at Echo Mountain Studios, parts of the album were recorded in Los Angeles at Perfect Sound Studios. The album was self-produced by the band, with additional production from Phil Ek. On April 14, the band performed a full set for the WDR TV show Rockpalast. On April 20, the band appeared on the BBC television series Later... with Jools Holland, promoting Infinite Arms by playing new songs "Compliments", "Factory", and "NW Apt". Following this appearance, the band's two earlier albums entered the UK Albums Chart for the first time.Peak chart positions for albums in the United Kingdom: Everything All the Time and Cease to Begin: Infinite Arms and Mirage Rock: Infinite Arms entered the UK chart at number 21, giving Band of Horses their first top 100 UK chart hit and debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200, far exceeding the performance of Cease to Begin. An outtake from the album, "Life on Earth" has been used on the soundtrack of the Twilight Saga film Eclipse, which was released on June 7, 2010.Tom Breihan, Eclipse Soundtrack Gets Vampire Weekend, Beck/Bat for Lashes Duet Pitchfork – May 12, 2010
Band of Horses toured Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 2010. They opened for Pearl Jam on their tour of the Midwest and East Coast and for Snow Patrol at their concerts in Bangor and Glasgow in June. They played the SXSW, Sasquatch, Splendour in the Grass, Summer Sonic, Pukkelpop, Highfields, Malmo, Rock en Seine, Reading, Leeds, ACL and Farm Aid festivals in 2010.
On October 7, 2010, Band of Horses released a cover of Cee Lo Green's "Georgia" via their official website. Ben Bridwell said, "This began as a very random idea I had on my dad's patio after we watched our beloved Georgia Bulldogs football team get robbed of a win at the hands of the referees and LSU last year. This song is so nostalgic to me as my parents grew up in Atlanta and have so many family members in the great state of Georgia. It's always been a second home of sorts. We've played some great shows there as well, including our run of annual New Year's Eve shows in Atlanta from 2007–2009."Max, "Band of Horses Cover Cee Lo Green" sunonthesand.com – October 7, 2010 The cover version Bridwell referred to is Cee Lo's version of "No One's Gonna Love You". The two tracks were released together as a 7-inch vinyl split single.
Band of Horses released a video for their song "Dilly" on November 16, 2010. Previous videos for songs from Infinite Arms had been collections of still photographs by the band's longtime collaborator Christoper Wilson, merged to make movies. "Dilly" was shot in the Mojave Desert by director Phil Andelman and was exclusively premiered on the movie website IMDb. The video features the exploits of a trouble-making motorcycle gang, and includes surreal sequences of the gang dancing in formation, as well as them killing people by shooting them with nothing more than a pointed finger. The collaboration with IMDb represents the first occasion that the website has premiered a music video.Glassman, Emily "WORLD PREMIERE OF BAND OF HORSES MUSIC VIDEO EXCLUSIVELY ON IMDb" IMDb (Press Room) – November 16, 2010 "Dilly" was released as a single on February 14, 2011, and includes the band's cover version of Cee-Lo Green's "Georgia".Stickler, John "Band Of Horses Reveal Details Of New Single Dilly" Stereoboard – January 10, 2011 The single was a minor hit on the Belgian (Flanders) singles chart."Band of Horses – Dilly" Ultratop Infinite Arms was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Alternative Album category"53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list" Los Angeles Times and featured in several end-of-year "Best Albums of 2010" lists, including Q magazine (No. 21),"Q's Top 50 Albums of 2010" Sputnikmusic – November 25, 2010 NPR Listeners (No. 15),Schlansky, Evan "Arcade Fire Tops NPR Listeners' Best Albums Of 2010 List" American Songwriter – December 15, 2010 Filter magazine (No. 10)"Filter's Top 10 of 2010: Staff Picks" Filter – December 1, 2010 and Paste magazine (No. 14).Jackson, Josh "The 50 Best Albums of 2010" Paste – December 1, 2010 The song "Laredo" was placed at number 28 in Rolling Stone magazine's top 50 songs of 2010. newmusicreviews.net – December 18, 2010