REVIEWS

Band of Horses

Why Are You OK (INTERSCOPE)

For a while after 2012’s Mirage Rock , Band of Horses’ awkward, uncomfortable attempt at the mainstream, it seemed possible that the album would be the band’s last artistic statement. Which given the excellence of their first two records (heck, I even like 80% of Infinite Arms ) would have been a true shame for a band who seemed to be placing the need for commercial success ahead of quality. The future looked uncertain and long-term fans were fearful.

Why Are You OK is a significant improvement on that record, and a genuine allaying of such fears. Granted, it is still not at the levels that propelled 2006’s debut, Everything All the Time , and 2007’s sophomore effort, Cease to Begin , to the public consciousness, but it does sound like a band re-establishing what made itself vital in the first place. Many reviews have focused on Ben Bridwell’s collaboration with Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle as the central key factor around the album’s renewed energy and color but such emphasis is unfair on the band—as much as Lytle’s production sounds fresh and invigorating, the success of the record centers around Bridwell re-establishing the emotional connections from the songs. Opener “Dull Times/The Moon” is an immediate validation of this—ambitious, slow-build and explosive without seeming over-burdened or wasteful. “Whatever, Wherever” is effortlessly pretty and “Throw My Mess” carries a Bright Eyes-style folk-rock charm. Even better is when J Mascis turns up on the vibrant, joyous “In a Drawer” but it is the minimal, perfectly-weighted emotional punch of “Barrel House” that impresses most here—Bridwell at his most confessing and emotionally articulate.

It doesn’t always work—lead single “Casual Party” and “Country Teen” veer dangerously close to MOR rock-by-numbers but conversely, the inclusion of the psychedelic soundscape that is “Hag” shows that Band of Horses are not averse to exploring new territory while consolidating their older, more familiar ground. And while Why Are You OK may struggle to match the specific peaks of some of their previous work, its consistency, cohesion, and variety of songcraft breathes new spark into the band’s flame and hints at a brighter, more expansive musical future. (www.bandofhorses.com)

By David Edwards

The Avett Brothers

True Sadness (AMERICAN/REPUBLIC)

The Avett Brothers’ ninth studio album, True Sadness , is a 51-minute collection of a dozen beautifully and brilliantly crafted tracks. From the opening chords of “Ain’t No Man” to the final notes of “May It Last,” the record marks the continued progression of a group whose sound has been evolving for 16-years and counting.

In a March 2016 letter that accompanied the album’s announcement, founding frontman and brother Seth Avett declared True Sadness a “patchwork quilt” with elements of Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Gillian Welch, and more. The description is undeniably apt. True Sadness is very much a musical olio (it’s easy to pick up on countless other influences, as well), but as a whole, the album envelops the listener, like the embrace of a comfortable blanket. True Sadness is an album easy to get lost in, an experience that ends all too soon. From “Smithsonian” to “Victims of Life” to “Divorce Separation Blues,” it’s an examination of life, love, and loss (as much of The Avett Brothers’ output is) that, no matter how heavy its themes might get, retains an uplifting hopefulness that warrants revisiting it time and again. (www.theavettbrothers.com)

By Zach Hollwedel

Beyond the Wizards Sleeve

The Soft Bounce (PHANTASY)

The liner notes refer to The Soft Bounce as “a trip album in the wildest sense.” With that in mind, expect this string of tunes from electronic duo Erol Alkan and Richard Norris to provide a change of scenery around every corner.

The Soft Bounce is more about variation than mind-warping, though that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of fringe-frolicking. As guest Jon Savage states in his disorienting monologue under a swarm of backward recordings on the quite trippy “Third Mynd,” “This is how one ought to see.”

When building-crumbling electric guitar suddenly smashes through on “Iron Age,” nature shifts abruptly from a Beck-ian pop undertow to a Category 4 situation. Elsewhere, more guest turns including Euro Childs (of Gorki’s Zygotic Mynci), Jane Weaver, and Hannah Peel generate bright spots throughout the record. And after the epic “Tomorrow, Forever” plays like a seven-minute end-of-days soundtrack at the album’s center, the only way to go is everywhere. (www.facebook.com/beyondthewizardssleeve)

By Hays Davis

James Blake

The Colour in Everything (REPUBLIC)

When I first heard James Blake’s voice through his “Wilhelm Scream,” I pictured someone altogether different from a shy young lad with a blushing smile. I’m pretty sure everyone did. His computerized cries sounded of weathered experience and the quiet torment of someone who’s seen more than he’s wanted to. He sang as if possessed by ghosts of souls long forgotten, seeming to carry forward their yearning calls to be heard again. But Blake was simply a young man barely removed from adolescence, alone at