Band of Horses Infinite Arms (Columbia)
3/5
By: Matt Tomiak
Reared on the Sub Pop label but never abashed of their leanings towards highly polished stadium-rock, Band of Horses' third album Infinite Arms won't give their new major label paymasters any sleepless nights.
Leading with a single as straightforward as 'Compliments' provided strong evidence of an unabashed claim being staked for both the Kings' of Leon festival-headline throne as well as the casual rock fan's dollar, but coming from a bunch of indie-steeped, blog-friendly Seattleites who once put out records through the same people as Wolf Eyes and L7, it's still slightly bizarre to be faced with an LP so brazenly indebted to The Eagles and Steely Dan.
The jangly, undemanding Tom Petty-lite of 'Laredo' contains a verse of expletive-filled murderous imagery without ever feeling truly hostile; 'NW Apt' resembles Grandaddy whilst providing vocalist Ben Bridwell with just one in a series of opportunities to veer into soft-rock cliché, threatening at one point to 'blow the dust off this scene', as if the boasts of drinkin' at the railway station under moonlit skies, as recounted in 'Blue Beard', hadn't already trod sufficiently hackneyed province.
Artists in this article: Band of Horses
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