Band Of Horses

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• Genre: Noise Pop
• Hometown: Seattle
• Band Of Horses Website

About

Band of Horses formed after the demise of Seattle favorites Carrisa's Wierd, an orchestral indie band with melancholy folk roots. Together for 10 years, they had a devoted following, but never managed to extend that local adoration beyond the edges of the Pacific Northwest. After the bust up, drummer Ben Bridwell (who had never written a song, ever) started writing and playing around town as simply Horses, eventually convincing former Carissa songwriter and frontman Mat Brooke to join him when he opened for an Iron & Wine gig. That event solidified the bearded duo, as the core members of Band of Horses, along with tipping them off (via I&W's Sam Beam) to their eventual new home at Sub Pop Records. With former drummer Bridwell now stepping forward to take the lead, with Brooke on bass, Band of Horses manage to retreat from any previous band memories by ditching their former dark orchestrations to expose an aching waft of twanging guitars that drift effortlessly into dream pop. While compared to groups like My Morning Jacket (who also choose not to shave, create a similar musical mood and wear their Neil Young influences proudly), Band of Horses lean much heavier on the positive, with an inspirational reverb that elevates even their more somber subjects. Their full-length Sub Pop debut,Everything All The Time, was released in 2006, and that's more than enough reason to start a stampede.

- Michele K-Tel