Guided By Horses

Band Of Horses "The Funeral"

By about the third or fourth day of this year's South By Southwest, I was getting burned out. Not burned out as in I was sick of seeing awesome bands, but just physically tired. When I went to the Sub Pop/Merge Records day party, all I wanted to do was sit down. Alas, the party was being held in the backyard of a local BBQ joint and the only place to sit were some picnic tables strategically placed to the side of the stage where you couldn't see anything. But at this point I just didn't care. This probably wouldn't have been the case if say NECROPHAGIST was playing.





I even sat through Robert Pollard's set with an uninterested look on my face. Usually I'd be in there jumping round with all the other blowfish, but this day I just wasn't feeling it. I caught my seventeenth wind later on that night, and the rest of the trip was a blast.




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While wallowing in my misery at Pok-E-Joe's, a band of bearded, flanneled men took the stage. They introduced themselves as Band Of Horses. I coudn't have cared less at the time and I don't even remember what they sounded like, but in hindsight I wish I had. I didn't discover Band Of Horses until well after SXSW was over. I missed out. 'Everything All The Time' is a tremendous debut album.

Ben Bridwell and Matt Brooke formed Band Of Horses from the ashes of Carissa's Wierd, a band I paid little if any attention to when they existed. Their sound could easily be compared to that of My Morning Jacket, but I tend to think they approach it a little differently. The songs on 'Everything All The Time' span a range of emotions; sadness and happiness, quirkiness and straight ahead power pop. And with a nod to Neil Young, the record is good enough to fulfill any alt-country void you need to fill since Wilco started using only theremins on their recordings.

I can't tell if "The Funeral" is spiteful or sad. I gather that the writer is coming from a place where he's unsatisfied with himself, and he's taking you down with him. But who's funeral is he waiting for? Yours or his own? The song's highs and lows will definitely force you to put it on repeat and figure it out for yourself.

So next time I'm at a giant rock conference, I have to remember to stay alert try and pay attention to everyone. Maybe I'll cut back on the beer intake next time.

Uh, no. That's not gonna happen, maybe i'll just start taking trucker pills at those day shows instead.


Band Of Horses "The Funeral" music video

Band Of Horses Official Site