Band of Horses

Band of Horses
Band of Horses at the 2006 SXSW festival
Background information
Origin	Seattle, relocated to South Carolina, USA
Genres	Indie rock, alternative country, Southern rock
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Sub Pop
Associated acts	Carissa's Wierd Grand Archives
Website	Official site
Members
Ben Bridwell Ryan Monroe Tyler Ramsey Bill Reynolds Creighton Barrett
Former members
Joe Arnone Mat Brooke Sera Cahoone Rob Hampton Chris Early Tim Meinig

Band of Horses, previously known as Horses, is an American indie rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke. Joe Arnone joined the band in February 2006. They are currently signed to Sub Pop Records. The band often draws comparisons to My Morning Jacket, largely due to the vocal similarities between Bridwell and My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James, the occasional Southern rock tendencies that the two groups have in common,^{[citation needed]} and a penchant for glimmering reverb.^{[citation needed]} Allmusic has compared Bridwell's vocals to early Neil Young and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.^[1]

History

Ben Bridwell (guitar, vocals) and Mat Brooke (guitar) formed the band in 2004 after the break-up of their previous band, Carissa's Wierd. The band initially received attention from Sub Pop after opening for Iron & Wine during Seattle area shows. In 2005, the band released Tour EP, which was sold exclusively at shows and on Sub Pop's website. Its debut full-length, Everything All the Time was recorded in 2005 with producer Phil Ek and released on March 21, 2006 to generally positive reviews.^[2]

On July 13, 2006, Band of Horses appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman without Brooke, who left the band on July 25, 2006^[3] to start a new band, Grand Archives, that has since signed to Sub Pop.^[4] The band's current members have since relocated to Bridwell's native South Carolina. The band's current lineup includes Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett, Ryan Monroe and Tyler Ramsey, who also provides opening performances on tour, as well as bassist Bill Reynolds and guitarist Blake Mills.

Band of Horses' second album, Cease to Begin, was recorded in neighboring North Carolina and released on October 9, 2007. The album was voted one of the ten best albums of 2007 by Paste magazine.^[5]

The band's song "The Funeral" appeared in television advertisements for SUVs; in the trailer for the 2006 film Penelope; in the 2009 film Assassination of a High School President; in the television series CSI, Criminal Minds, One Tree Hill, Numb3rs, Kyle XY, The Best Years; in the skateboarding video Fully Flared, and in the video game Skate. It was sampled in Kid Cudi's song "The Prayer". Their songs have appeared in other forms of media, including television, film trailers and video games. In 2007, the band's song "No One's Gonna Love You" was played in the first season of Chuck, in the season 1 finale of 90210, and in the season 5 finale of Numb3rs. The song "The General Specific" was used in the episode "Roman Holiday" of Gossip Girl. In 2008, they appeared in a Ford commercial for the company's new SYNC voice recognition audio control system. In 2008, Band of Horses played at the Glastonbury Festival and T in the Park as well as sub-headlining the Roskilde Festival as part of their European tour.^[6] They played at the 2008 Bridge School Benefit concert.

In a 2008 Rolling Stone interview, the band stated they would be entering the studio in October to begin recording their third album. Ben Bridwell stated he had about 27 songs written already.^[7] In May 2009, producer Phil Ek stated that he was recording the band's third album in South Carolina.^[8] Ben Bridwell mentioned the new album, Night Rainbows, by name several times while introducing new songs during the band's summer 2009 tour.^[9]

Discography

Albums

• Everything All the Time (March 21, 2006, Sub Pop)
• Cease to Begin (October 9, 2007, Sub Pop) #35 Billboard 200
• Night Rainbows TBA

EPs

• Band of Horses (2005, self-released)

Singles

• "The Funeral" (May 2006, radio and video single; May 21, 2007 on 7" vinyl—UK only)
  • b/w: "The End's Not Near"
• "The Great Salt Lake" (August 2006, radio and video single)
• "Is There a Ghost" (August 28, 2007, digital and video single) #34 Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
• "No One's Gonna Love You" (February 25, 2008 on 7" vinyl—UK only)
  • b/w: "Am I a Good Man"

References

External links

• Official site
• Band of Horses at Sub Pop
• Band of Horses at MySpace

Interviews

• November 2006 band interview
• Band of Horses quick-fire interview
• Exclaim.ca. Oct 2007 - Band of Horses Let it Flow