Band of Horses
have released their fourth studio album called Mirage Rock and the content makes a listener wonder: what has this
band become? Initially, Band of Horses
had a musical style that leaned more towards driven pop rock that exuded an
almost ethereal presence in the lyrical content and it’s execution by lead
singer Ben Bridwell. It was distinctly dreary in tone and song lyrics often
would linger upon dark topics such as a funeral or the secret connection between
cigarettes and wedding bands. These lyrics though, were given a certain gravity
in the airy and often high pitched way in which they were sung. The songs in the previous albums of Band of Horses were good but carried
with them the mark of an angry youth still struggling with the realities of
adulthood. This is not the case with Mirage Rock.
Band of Horses
seems to be taking more cues from Neil
Young as opposed to Death Cab For
Cutie with Mirage Rock. Some of
tracks that populate this new album have an almost country vibe to them, but
not in the bad, “I wear a ten gallon hat!” kind of way, which you can really
hear on the track Everything's Gonna Be
Undone. This track summons the
spirit of Neil Young in the best way
possible, with its breezy guitar portions to the simple cautionary idea put
forward in the lyrics that eventually everything ends, so relax. No, this album has a more lighthearted feel in
its sense of misery and wonder. Like a well-timed joke during a friend’s
hardship, Mirage Rock has all the
heart of a sombre intimate exchange while leaving all those touched with a
smile on their face.
