Band of Horses

Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also includes longtime members Creighton Barrett (drums) and Ryan Monroe (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), alongside Matt Gentling (bass, backing vocals) and Brett Nash (guitar, backing vocals).

For ten years, the band's most stable line-up featured guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bassist Bill Reynolds, who recorded and performed with the band between 2007 and 2017, before acrimoniously departing.

To date, the band has released six studio albums: ''Everything All the Time'' (2006), ''Cease to Begin'' (2007), ''Infinite Arms'' (2010), '' Mirage Rock'' (2012), '' Why Are You OK'' (2016) and '' Things Are Great'' (2022), with ''Infinite Arms'' being nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011.

History

Formation and ''Everything All the Time'' (2004–2006)

Ben Bridwell (vocals, guitar) formed Band of Horses, who were originally briefly known as Horses in 2004 after the break-up of his previous band, Carissa's Wierd, along with bassist Chris Early and drummer Tim Meinig. They were soon joined by former Carissa's Wierd bandleader Mat Brooke (guitar, vocals). The band initially received attention from Sub Pop after opening for Iron & Wine during Seattle area shows. In 2005, the band released the '' Tour EP'', which was sold at shows and on Sub Pop's website.

Their first full-length album, ''Everything All the Time'', was recorded in 2005 with producer Phil Ek and released by Sub Pop on March 21, 2006. It features the band's original four-piece lineup, although both Tim Meinig and Sera Cahoone receive drumming credits. The album included new versions of five of the six songs from the ''Tour EP'' along with five brand new songs. It was a minor hit in Scandinavia, entering the lower reaches of the Sweden and Norway album charts.''Everything All the Time'' Ultratop entry
– ''Ultratop'' Ben Bridwell explained the sound of the album, "I thought before recording that I really wanted an ELO-sounding record, with strings and keyboards and synths, but then, as we got closer to it, we wanted to take a more raw approach."

Bridwell found that there was a personality clash between himself and Meinig and Early and the two left soon after the recording of the album. Ben explained his side of the story, "All of a sudden I was...with two guys I didn't really even know...they were nice guys, there just wasn't a personality match." For the subsequent tour, Joe Arnone (guitar and keyboards), Rob Hampton (bass and guitar) and Creighton Barrett (drums) were brought in to play with Bridwell and Brooke.

''Everything All the Time''s first single was " The Funeral", which has been used in numerous television series, films, video games, and advertisements. On July 13, 2006, the band performed the song on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' without Brooke, who had left the band. Subsequently, he formed Grand Archives, who have since signed to Sub Pop and released two albums. Brooke explained how he joined Band of Horses, "So they ended up getting a show opening up for Iron and Wine in Seattle and Ben asked if I would just come up and do a couple songs, just 'cause we're friends. So...I did that. It was fun and then a couple of Iron and Wine tours came up...and then next thing I knew, we were in the studio making a record for Sub Pop." On why he left, he said, "I'd never really given the commitment to be a formal member. It was just a spur of the moment...and ''Everything All the Time'' took off really fast...I still didn't feel quite committed. It was still 100 percent Ben's project and I kinda wanted to see what else I could do."

''Cease to Begin'' (2007–2009)

Before recording their second album, Bridwell decided to relocate the band from Seattle to his native South Carolina. He said, "We were touring so much that nowhere was really home, so I figured...if I'm gonna come home after these long stretches of traveling, it would nice to be around my family."

Band of Horses toured Europe and North America in 2007, prior to the release of their second album. Joe Arnone was no longer part of the band, which now toured as a six-piece band following the addition of Matt Gentling (Archers of Loaf – bass), Robin Peringer ( Modest Mouse, Carissa's Wierd – guitar) and Ryan Monroe (keyboards) to the line up. The album, ''Cease to Begin'', was recorded in North Carolina and produced by Phil Ek. It was released by Sub Pop Records on October 9, 2007. The album features the core trio of Ben Bridwell, Creighton Barrett and Rob Hampton, with keyboards played by Ryan Monroe. ''Cease to Begin'' gave Band of Horses their first hit in the U.S. by reaching number 35 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was also a hit in Norway, Denmark, France and Sweden.''Cease to Begin'' Ultratop entry
– ''Ultratop'' It was voted ninth best album of 2007 by '' Paste'' magazine and 47th best by ''Rolling Stone''. The single " No One's Gonna Love You" gave Band of Horses their first European hit single, reaching number 22 in Denmark.

Following the release of ''Cease to Begin'', Monroe became a permanent member of the band, along with new recruits Tyler Ramsey (guitar and vocals) and Bill Reynolds (bass). This once again made Band of Horses a six-piece band. In addition to his role in the band, Ramsey often performed solo as the opening act before the band play live.

In 2008, Band of Horses played at the Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park, the Bridge School Benefit concert, and the Roskilde Festival.

''Infinite Arms'' (2010–2011)

In May 2009, producer Phil Ek stated that he was recording the third Band of Horses album in North Carolina. Ben Bridwell mentioned that the new album was titled ''Night Rainbows'' several times while introducing new songs during the band's summer 2009 tour, but in a March 2, 2010 interview, the band revealed that the album was to be called ''Infinite Arms''. Prior to the recording of the album, Rob Hampton left the band. He was later replaced by Swedish guitarist Ludwig Böss, although Böss does not appear on the album and on March 19, 2010, it was revealed that he too had left. The album was recorded by the five-piece lineup of Bridwell, Ramsey, Reynolds, Barrett, and Monroe.

''Infinite Arms'' was released worldwide between May 14 and 19, 2010 on the Columbia, Brown, and Fat Possum labels. Aside from the North Carolina sessions at Echo Mountain Studios, parts of the album were recorded in Los Angeles at Perfect Sound Studios. The album was self-produced by the band, with additional production from Phil Ek. On April 14, the band performed a full set for the WDR TV show "Rockpalast". On April 20, the band appeared on the BBC
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