Featuring a new lineup, an open-ended definition of Americana, and the backing of a major label, Band of Horses’ third album is a game changer. What began as a partnership between Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke has since blossomed into a five-piece band, with Bridwell serving as the only link between the group’s 2006 debut, Everything All the Time, and the present. It’s only natural, then, that Infinite Arms sounds wholly different from the albums that came before it, both of which mixed guitar-driven rock with dusty, jangled folk. There’s still plenty of folk to be found here, and Band of Horses bang their way through “Compliments” as a concession to their rock fans. Infinite Arms is a borderline pop album, though, dressed up in flannel and facial hair to disguise the fact that these melodies are, with few exceptions, the sweetest of the group’s career. There are harmonies galore, simple fifths and thick, Sacred Harp-type chords that beef up Bridwell’s vocals while drawing parallels to Fleet Foxes and the Beach Boys. At times, it’s hard to separate Band of Horses from such influences; “Blue Beard,” although downright gorgeous, cops its verse from Smile-era Brian Wilson and its bridge from the Starland Vocal Band, and “Older” is the country-rock single Gram Parsons never wrote. But the album’s willingness to sample from so many different genres — roots, soft rock, alt.country, power pop, indie folk — makes it sound like nothing else in 2010, and Band of Horses connect the dots by layering everything with canyon-worthy reverb and cinematic guitars. For those who let it sink in, Infinite Arms could be a contender for the year’s best summer album, not to mention the band’s most cohesive album to date.

Tracklisting
1. Factory
2. Compliments
3. Laredo
4. Blue Beard
5. On My Way Back Home
6. Infinite Arms
7. Dilly
8. Evening Kitchen
9. Older
10. For Annabelle
11. Nw Apt.
12. Neighbor

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.68) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “Suddenly, the band has blossomed into something more like the Band, with rich harmonies — even when Bridwell just multitracks his own voice — and fuller arrangements.”

Billboard (p.59) – “[T]he stomping rhythm and mammoth chorus of first single ‘Compliments’ make it the most flat-out enjoyable track the band has ever recorded.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.92) – 3 stars out of 5 — “They’re aspiring to lofty melodic standards, and on the lilting sing-along ‘Older’ and the earthy lo-fi contemplation of ‘Evening Kitchen’ they achieve them in timeless fashion.”

Uncut (magazine) (p.93) – 4 stars out of 5 — “[W]hile it sees Ben Bridwell leaving his lo-fi past behind, INFINITE ARMS is a neoclassic landmark that you’ll need to get on vinyl.”

EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME is the debut release on Sub Pop from Seattle’s Band of Horses. Matt Brooke and Ben Bridwell have abandoned the melancholic slow-core of their previous band Carissa’s Weird for a brighter, more straightforward indie rock sound with obvious roots in Neil Young’s ragged folk and progressive indie bands like Built to Spill.

EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME benefits from strong songwriting, and the winding, yearning tenor of Bridwell, while the synthesis of introspective folky intimacy, immediately accessible melodies, and button-pushing rock elements is very appealing. Moreover, the album is beautifully produced, with layers of shimmering guitars and a warm, full backbeat, making for an impressive and highly promising first effort.

Tracklisting
1. The First Song
2. Wicked Gil
3. Our Swords
4. The Funeral
5. Part One
6. The Great Salt Lake
7. Weed Party
8. I Go To The Barn Because I Like The
9. Monsters
10. St Augustine

Professional Reviews
Uncut (p.107) – 4 stars out of 5 — “Band Of Horses specialise in melodic melancholy with a sheen of hope. Bridwell’s plaintive voice lends the songs a shade of Neil Young.”

On 2007’s CEASE TO BEGIN, its second album for the venerable Sub Pop label, Band of Horses expands on the dreamy indie-rock sound of its well-received debut, EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. The product of considerable changes for the group–namely the departure of founding guitarist Mat Brooke and relocation from Seattle, Washington to Charleston, South Carolina–BEGIN solidifies singer/guitarist Ben Bridwell’s status as the central creative force behind the ensemble. Even though it does nothing to allay frequent comparisons to My Morning Jacket, the record does further Bridwell’s impressive songcraft, which shines on the chiming, widescreen expanse of “Is There a Ghost” and the jangly acoustic vibe of “Lamb on the Lam (In the City).”

Tracklisting
1. Is There A Ghost
2. Ode To Lrc
3. No One’s Gonna Love You
4. Detlef Schrempf
5. The General Specific
6. Lamb On The Lam (In The City)
7. Islands On The Coast
8. Marry Song
9. Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
10. Window Blues

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.120) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “[L]ong on dreamlike, rootsy songs that top churning guitars with glacially pretty, reverb-slathered vocals….CEASE TO BEGIN is expertly made…”

Rolling Stone (p.116) – Included in Rolling Stone’s “50 Top Albums of the Year 2007″ — “This music is simultaneously downcast and sky-cresting…”

Spin (p.114) – 4 stars out of 5 — “Every sound lingers, and each stretched-out moment is welcome.”

Uncut (p.84) – 3 stars out of 5 — “[T]he 10 songs here rely on slightly reedy and meandering country-rock. It’s a sound that devotees of Crazy Horse or My Morning Jacket will find conspicuously pleasing…”

Magnet (p.91) – “Bridwell and Co. nail the soft/loud dynamic better than any group in recent memory, and CEASE TO BEGIN is a fine, fitting return to familiar ground.”

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.47) – “For those with more eclectic tastes, CEASE TO BEGIN is an enthralling album…”

Q (Magazine) (p.12) – 4 stars out of 5 — “From the anthem-like ‘Ode To LRC’ to the sanguine finale of ‘Window Blues,’ this is beautifully paced and utterly beguiling.”