Band of Horses, previously known as Horses, is an American indie rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke. Joe Arnone joined the band in February 2006. They are currently signed to Sub Pop Records.
... Band of Horses, previously known as Horses, is an American indie rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke. Joe Arnone joined the band in February 2006. They are currently signed to Sub Pop Records. The band often draws comparisons to My Morning Jacket, largely due to the vocal similarities between Bridwell and My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James, the occasional Southern rock tendencies that the two groups have in common, and a penchant for glimmering reverb. Allmusic has compared Bridwell's vocals to early Neil Young and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.
History:
Ben Bridwell (guitar, vocals) and Mat Brooke (guitar) formed the band in 2004 after the break-up of their previous band, Carissa's Wierd. The band initially received attention from Sub Pop after opening for Iron & Wine during Seattle area shows. In 2005, the band released Tour EP, which was sold exclusively at shows and on Sub Pop's website. Its debut full-length, Everything All the Time was recorded in 2005 with producer Phil Ek and released on March 21, 2006 to generally positive reviews.
On July 13, 2006, Band of Horses appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman without Brooke, who left the band on July 25, 2006 to start a new band, Grand Archives, that has since signed to Sub Pop. The band's current members have since relocated to Bridwell's native South Carolina. The band's current lineup includes Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett, Ryan Monroe and Tyler Ramsey, who also provides opening performances on tour, as well as bassist Bill Reynolds and guitarist Blake Mills.
Band of Horses' second album, Cease to Begin, was recorded in neighboring North Carolina and released on October 9, 2007. The album was voted one of the ten best albums of 2007 by Paste magazine.
The band's song "The Funeral" appeared in a television advertisement for SUVs; in the trailer for the 2006 film Penelope; in the television series CSI, Criminal Minds, One Tree Hill, Numb3rs; and in the video game Skate. It was sampled in Kid Cudi's song "The Prayer". Their songs have appeared in other forms of media, including television, film trailers and video games. In 2007, the band's song "No One's Gonna Love You" was played in the first season of Chuck. In early 2008, they appeared in a Ford commercial for its new SYNC voice recognition audio control system. In 2008, Band of Horses played at the Glastonbury Festival and sub-headlined the Roskilde Festival as part of their European tour. They played at the 2008 Bridge School Benefit concert.
In a 2008 Rolling Stone interview, the band stated they will be entering the studio in October to begin recording their third album. Ben Bridwell stated he had about 27 songs written already.
