“I’m coming up only to hold you under
And coming up only to show you’re wrong
And to know you is hard; we wonder…
To know you all wrong; we warn.
Really too late to call,
So we wait for morning
To wake you is all we got
To know me as hardly golden
Is to know me all wrong, they warn.
At every occasion I’ll be ready for the funeral
At every occasion, once more, it’s called the funeral
At every occasion, oh, I’m ready for the funeral
At every occasion, oh, one billion day funeral”
These iconic lyrics from Band of Horses track “The Funeral” are some of the most recognizable and cherished words ever sung in indie rock, and for good reason. They come from a place we have all, at one time in our lives, visited; a dark, inward vestige, the hole that we had to crawl out of, some kind of personal hell. They are re-assuring and comforting, speaking to our sense of longing.
That’s the best way to describe Band of Horses. As a band that encapsulates this longing (and the comfort in knowing we all feel this way at a certain point in time), Band of Horses continue to explore this theme with utter poise, soul and intrigue. With just four studio albums under their belt, they have remained an “it” band their whole career, largely because they have mastered the ability to adapt, sometimes to the chagrin of their fans. Mirage Rock, their most recent studio album (2012) is exploratory and finds a band pushing itself beyond its comfort zone. Indie purists will cry foul, but it’s this kind of attitude that keeps a band fresh and interesting. “Dumpster World” is arguably one of the finest moments of their career.
In support of their recently released (and pretty fabulous), Acoustic at the Ryman, Band of Horses have hit the road, and tonight, we get to see Ben Bridwell in all his bearded glory at Buffalo’s favorite haunt, Town Ballroom, for a sold out show at 7pm. Along with another great band, and one that will be on everyones radar following this show, Midlake (read our Know Your Opener) it is destined to be one of THE most talked about shows of the summer. Get there early for Midlake and see what I’m talking about.