Music Review: Band of Horses “Mirage Rock”

Savannah Mul – Opinion Editor –

Band of Horses

Mirage Rock 

Band of Horses’ fourth studio album “Mirage Rock” was a follow up to “Infinite Arms.” For fans expecting to hear more along the lines of “The Funeral” or “The End’s Not Near,” they’ll be in for a different sound. The album starts with sound that already lifts the air, clears the mind and by the end of the album the listener is daydreaming of love.

1. “Knock Knock”  – The song starts with uplifting “ohs and ahs” melodies and a drum beat like a repetitive knock on the door. If you’re looking for something close to their album “Everything All The Time,” this might be the closest sound to it.

2. “How To Live” – This song has some country rhythm guitar strums within it, which only benefit the song’s carefree attitude. It’s not one of my favorites off the album, but because of the last 20-30 seconds of this song, the drum melody makes up for everything I thought the song was missing.

3. “Slow Cruel Hands of Time” – This tune starts to slow the album down. It’s a good song, but also borderline boring. Nothing grabs me long enough to finish listening to the whole song.

4. “A Little Biblical” – Within this album, the band definitely nailed it with this song. It has an addictive melody and is the classic, fine sound of Band of Horses.

5. “Shut-In Tourist” – This tune does a 180 back to the first song off the album, keeping the “oh ahs,” but this time, in a more soft and gracious tone. The only part of this song I have a query with is the repetitive nature of saying “So I’ll repeat what you said,” I get the point. He will repeat whatever he was told, but at the same time. It gets tiresome. If it ended a one minute and thirty seconds into the song, that would’ve been fine with me.

6. “Dumpster World” – If you ever wondered what the song “I’ve Been Through The Desert” by American and any Jimmy Eat World song would sound like if the two morphed and became one band, it would be this song. While not very successful, the chorus is the strongest part of this song. If after the first chorus, the build up continued and didn’t retreat back to the slow melody, this would have been a hit. But that didn’t happen.

7. “Electric Music” – This is the one; the one that makes the album and restores all my hope in Band of Horses that they still got it. A feel good melody about traveling will inspire you to leave class and drive off to San Francisco or NYC. So my warning to you, don’t listen to the song when studying for an exam because you’ll have no motivation to do so. What makes this so successful is the addictive drumbeat, which isn’t introduced ‘till the bridge leading up the chorus. A perfect time to listen to this song is on a Monday; it’ll cure the morning blues and help you get the energy to get out of bed.

8. “Everything’s Gonna Be Undone.” – This is similar to “Shut-In Tourist” a repetitive melody lyric-wise, but overall a good song.

9. “Feud” – If you’re wondering where their “rock” sound is laying it’s here. A good song with Ben Bridwell’s classic lyrical sound.  The abrupt ending with a drum crash works well with the lyrics as he is singing about receiving justice within the never-ending battle between people.

10. “Long Vows” – This is the teenage love anthem part 1 on the album. It’s a sweet melody about remembering love and not forgetting whom the first love was. Maybe the beat could have been more exciting; it was a weak attempt in reminiscing about love. However, this song definitely kept the theme of the whole album being, “Everything will fall into place.”

11.  “Heartbreak on the 101” – This song would be a mix of the two Johnny Cash songs “For You,” and “Wandering.” It’s a successful song where Bridwell transformed his voice into a deep vocal sound which paired well with the melodramatic string instruments. This is the teenage love anthem part 2 when one of the lovers realizes they’re not getting back together. It’s a beautiful tune that many listeners will be able to relate to.

3 out of 5 Owls