Band of Horses | A Review of Mirage Rock

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.