“Infinite Arms,” the 2010 album by Band of Horses, is a bit of a head-scratcher. From reading about the band’s previous albums, 2007’s “Cease to Begin” and 2006’s “Everything All the Time,” it’s easy to expect “Infinite Arms” to sound like a slightly more rock-esque version of Fleet Foxes.
This album certainly is more rock-oriented than albums by Fleet Foxes, and there are at times some folk-esque vocal harmonies. But there is also a surprisingly prominent country soul to “Infinite Arms” that may not disappoint newcomers, but could have very well disappointed longtime fans of the band’s original sound.
Incorrect presumptions about the band’s musical style aside, “Infinite Arms” is a generally solid album. In it, the band does a great job of mixing melancholy, grand, wistful and upbeat songs in order to create a great tableau of songs for wanderers.
And that’s exactly the feel of this album: It’s a journey, a rambling trip over beautiful but stark plains. This can be manifested in the band’s lyrics literally through descriptions of nature or in a more figurative fashion, searching for an as-of-yet unrequited love.
Sometimes, this overriding theme of love (usually of the elusive variety) can result in some tired and familiar lyrics. For the most part, however, “Infinite Arms” is an extremely well-written album, and contains some gems which really stay with the listener.
“Laredo” sounds like something out of a western movie, a town that a tired hero wanders into as a stop on his long quest. The song is lonely but beautiful: “Oh, I’m at a crossroads with myself / I don’t got no one else.”
But the definite best song on the album is “Blue Beard.” It’s probably the most folksy song on the album, adorned predominately with acoustic guitar and a booming drum. The song features the best songwriting on the album, an example of which is: “The Midwestern sky is grey and cold / The sun never shines but that’s alright.”
Listeners could almost imagine themselves watching their own breath float away on a cold night, dissipating toward a field of stars. And it is that ability to transport the listener to another time and place which makes this album worth a listen – not specifically as a folk album or as a country rock album, but as an album that combines the two.
Stuff From the Shelf is a recurring blog series in which we review the albums and games we’ve been sent to review, but that we haven’t been able to enjoy until now.