Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
(Brown)
Words: Ryan Waring
No doubt, Ben Bridwell has heard the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And as Band of Horses’ popularity continues to grow (heck, John Buccigross even gave them a shout out on SportsCenter yesterday), the group’s third studio album Infinite Arms seldom strays from the formula they fashioned on Everything All the Time and reproduced on Cease to Begin. I can’t help but think that fame is putting a damper on creativity. Even more, much of Infinite Arms seems to draw inspiration solely from the previous two efforts. The title track not only shows a thematic similarity to “Is There a Ghost”, but a melodic self-plagiarism, as well.
The other eleven songs too utilize their keys to past successes: soaring harmonies, pure, yet conservative instrumentation, and Bridwell’s melodious charisma. The album’s first single “Compliments” remains true to the now well-established Band of Horses sound and “Older” typifies the markedly bluegrass mark with which the group more abundantly littered Cease to Begin. “Dilly” espouses all the aforementioned traits, yet pleasantly departs from the ruggedness, almost as if Bridwell is delivering his best Ben Gibbard impersonation, to become the album’s most charming track. In the same way, “Blue Beard”, though decidedly rural, distinctly shows Pet Sounds influence, particularly its harmonious intro.
Yet the more conspicuous differences are what Band of Horses left off this album. There is no monumental, ethereal anthem like “The Funeral.” Absent too are the idiosyncrasies that made tracks like “Wicked Gil” more genuine. The group lyrically emphasizes liberation from “plans” on “Evening Kitchen” and “Older”, yet the album, the result of a lengthy production process, omits these real moments for the formulaic. The innovative restraint renders the album redundant, and the routine is starting to become indigestible.
The rest of the lyrics reflect this ineptitude in emotional impact. The lead-off song “Factory” and closing “Neighbor” provide the fitting bookends to an album clearly demonstrating that Band of Horses’ lyric writing is only becoming more egregious. Lines like the so-grounded- it’s-practically-an-untouchable-time- capsule “I was thinking it over by the snack machine/ I thought about you in a candy bar” to the blandly ambiguous “I fell asleep to the greatest movie of the year” and “there’s a light on the porch here for someone,” Infinite Arms displays a near self-parodying regression in a department in which the group was already lacking.
That does not at all signify that it only gets worse from here. True, these twelve tracks could be B-sides from Everything All the Time, but Bridwell and company already discovered a unique, distinguished sound on that debut album. In preparation for Infinite Arms, Bridwell was quoted as saying that because of the equal input from each band member, this was really the first Band of Horses album. Maybe that is what made this album a second-rate Band of Horses record. Although certainly responsible for the regression, maybe the group’s best work does require Bridwell’s sole prominence. I am not going to compare him to Jeff Tweedy, but I seem to remember another alt-county rocker whose poor lyrics and static sound finally gave way to a hallmark indie album. Remember, kids, with the right motivation there’s a Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in everybody. Let’s just hope mainstream success doesn’t deter that impetus.
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