CD Odyssey Disc 1382: Band of Horses

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I’ve been on a streak of relatively new music lately, with the last seven albums all being released in 2016 or later.

Disc 1382 is…. Why are you ok

Artist: Band of Horses

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? A couple of people on a beach with their hands covering their faces. If they knew what they were about to hear they’d be covering their ears instead.

How I Came To Know It: I had liked many of the earlier releases by Band of Horses so I just bought this one hoping it would be good.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Band of Horses albums and “Why are you ok” is my least favourite. In fact, I don’t really like it at all. Here’s a full accounting:

1. Cease to Begin: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 637)
2. Mirage Rock: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 649)
3. Infinite Arms: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 470)
4. Everything All the Time: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 561)
5. Why are you ok: 2 stars (reviewed right here)

If you’d like to read me saying nice things about Band of Horses, by all means check out the album reviews for #s 1 through 3 above. If you prefer something less kind, by all means, continue reading this entry.

Ratings: 2 stars

“Why are you ok” starts with a vague annoying drone sound. For the next 11 songs and 49 minutes, this sound returns often. If that pea-soup ambience is the thing you like about Band of Horses’ earlier records, this may not trouble you. You may even like it. But I’m not partial to “drone” as a musical experience.

The album opens poorly with the indulgent seven minute mess of “Dull Times/The Moon” which in addition to droning, features a couple of “movements” neither one of which I enjoyed, and some random mumble talking at the mid-way point. To be fair, it probably wasn’t random, but I wasn’t sufficiently interested to listen that closely to what they were going on about. The song ends with an ever-increasing clangor of drums and guitar reverb before, mercifully, it fades quickly to black. As first impressions go, it was like a guy with sweaty palms shaking your hand and refusing to let go. During a pandemic.

Anyway, things seemed to pick up on the next track. “Solemn Oath” has promising melody and an upbeat electric guitar riff. Ben Bridwell’s vocals are high and clear. However, as the song progresses, they just keep adding more layers until, inevitably, the melody is buried in a fog of sound.

This was a common experience on the record. I’d get a flash of something promising at the beginning of a song, but it would evolve into a whole lot of fuzz. I found myself me looking up the song information multiple times, not because I was curious as to what it was called, but because I wanted to know how long until it was going to end.

It isn’t liked Band of Horses can’t play. Things never get muddy in the mix despite everything that is going on. There is even a symphonic quality in these songs, which are designed to soar and swell. They just don’t.

Despite the growing boredom and irritation, I kept listening, as this is what CD Odyssey rules demand. I got hopeful for “Casual Party,” which is a pretty nifty name for a song. Maybe it would have the same restless party energy of “NW Apartment” had on the 2010 record “Infinite Arms”?

Nope. “Casual Party” is a song about a horrible party filled with blowhards. The music is built to match the experience. Too much noise, clanging, and even more poorly placed spoken word sections. A song about wanting a lame party to end shouldn’t make you want the same thing for the song.

The album has one song I genuinely like: “Throw My Mess.” Like “Solemn Oath,” it has a catchy guitar riff, but unlike that song stays in its groove, and resists the album’s general predilection for more and more noise. When they play reserved like this, you can appreciate the whole Band of Horses experience. Bridwell’s vocals, the anthemic quality of the band, and even a celebratory foot stomping beat. Sadly, this is the only time I felt the old magic over the whole record.

Less than a year after “Why are you ok” was released both guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bass player Bill Reynolds left the band. I didn’t know this had happened until today, though, because frankly, I didn’t care. “Why are you ok” left such a bad taste in my mouth that had me uninterested in what they would do next. Fortunately, I won’t have to experience that taste ever again. The album is now departing my music collection – hopefully to go to a home that will enjoy it more than I can.

Best tracks: Throw My Mess