Band of Horses
Things Are Great
Release Date: Mar 4, 2022
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: BMG
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Album Review: Things Are Great by Band of Horses
Great, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Formed in Seattle but now located down in South Carolina, Band Of Horses has been largely made up of the core trio of Ben Bridwell (lead vocals, guitar, pedal steel, keys), Rob Hampton (guitar, bass) and Creighton Barrett (drums and percussion) - who are here on Things Are Great, supported by Matt Gentling and Ian Monroe on bass and guitar respectively. From opening track "Warning Signs" right through to the closing "Coalinga", the band run through what feels like a 'Greatest Hits' set, covering all of their strengths and finding very few of their weaknesses along the way. It also helps that those aforementioned tracks are two of the strongest pieces on the album, with the former's burning rock heaviosity balanced by the latter's glassy-eyed folk-rock.
Based on rating 7.5/10
Their transition from Seattle folk rock outfit to South Carolinian alt pop heroes reflects Band of Horses' sheer ambition and collective ability. With no shortage of either, the group's sixth album finds them returning to their roots, swiftly usurping 2016's largely subpar Why Are You OK. Things Are Great works especially well as a lens of maturity through which to revisit previous releases.
Opinion: Excellent
Six years and a line-up shift on from the gorgeously forlorn Why Are You OK, Ben Bridwell's warm-hearted roots-rockers reconnect with formative instincts on their sixth album. Sky-scraping choruses and tender feelings are the deftly navigated default modes, couched in crunchy guitars and Bridwell's honeyed voice. Recounting the loss of that voice onstage, Warning Signs sets a theme of tough times endured to a mix of the hearty and homespun, cutting to the band's core virtues.
Opinion: Very Good
Band Of Horses are taking hold of the reins. A small six years since their last release, the world having turned upside down and been shaken about since, their return assures us that 'Things Are Great'. Or, at least with this album, they have potential to be. A tranquil chronicling of hardship and a long effort to understand and learn narrated by the distinctive vocals of frontman Ben Bridwell, 'Things Are Great' is a considered and meditative musical homecoming.
'Things Are Great'
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