Concertwire.com

Starting in the mid-'00s, Band of Horses was the group that tastemakers were praising and the majority of people were quickly discovering. Blending roots and country sounds with an indie rock aesthetic, the band has succeeded in making music that is both familiar and new. Their most recent recording, Infinite Arms, was a group effort in the truest sense of the phrase. Trading song ideas remotely and then joining in the studio to work through arrangements led to writing credits for all five band members throughout the record, making the album a reflection of the taste and style of each Horse. Band of Horses consists of Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett, Ryan Monroe, Tyler Ramsey and Bill Reynolds. Bridwell, the one constant since the band's 2006 debut has often been likened to legends like Jim James of My Morning Jacket, early Neil Young, and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, but if you ask him he might tell you that Infinite Arms is a debut, in the sense that he entered the studio for the first time with a group of musicians working together as a cohesive force. No matter how you look at it, the present state of the band is as close to ideal as rock n’ roll can be.