By Jordyn Turney, 22, reporting from San Diego, CA, on the new album from Band of Horses, who always ride high on her list.
The list of artists whose albums I always, always buy is a short one, easily counted on one hand. And on this list is the indie-rock Band of Horses. It started with getting hooked on the song "The Funeral" from their debut LP, Everything All the Time, and then I discovered it wasn't just that one song I liked, but all of them.
With the Seattle band's fourth album Mirage Rock just out, I'm once again reminded of how much I love their music. The rustic sound of this new one is a change up from their earlier albums—which is always risky but admirable and in this case, really pays off. It’s a bit grittier, more solidly rock than the efforts that came before it. But the songs are just as sadly upbeat as ever, with melancholy lyrics set to impeccable, mountain-tinted beats. Music tends to make me think of images, and this latest Band of Horses offering conjure clear mountain skies, falling-down old houses with fading porches and drinks in mason jars.
While some of the songs, like "Shut-In Tourist," would easily fit in with their earliest albums, most of them, like the first track "Knock Knock," have a sound that's changed just enough. It’s markedly different while still being true to the Band of Horses I fell for. My personal favorite from the album has to be "A Little Biblical," an upbeat, catchy little ditty intriguingly matched with melancholy, more mature lyrics. And the closing song "Heartbreak on the 101" is a winding road trip well worth taking, proving that this band's talent is anything but a mirage.