Band of Horses surfaced in the middle of the 2000s by merging tuneful, rustic rock textures with commanding vocals steeped in heavy reverb. Starting out in Seattle, the group put out two well-received LPs on Sub Pop that established them among the leading independent rock acts of the period. Once frontman Ben Bridwell shifted the operation to his home state of South Carolina, mainstream recognition followed first via the 2007 album Cease to Begin and then with the Grammy-nominated Columbia debut Infinite Arms in 2010. Across the 2010s the band solidified its standing in the indie sphere through partnerships with veteran producers including Glyn Johns and Rick Rubin, all while steadily reshaping its sonic approach. A six-year silence after 2016’s Why Are You OK? ended when the ensemble resurfaced with Things Are Great in 2022.
Singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke launched the project in 2004, drawing on Bridwell’s prior eight years in the indie rock outfit Carissa’s Wierd. An early show shared with future labelmates Iron & Wine drew Sub Pop’s interest, leading to a 2005 signing and the reissue of the band’s self-released EP that same year. Seattle veteran Phil Ek produced the full-length debut Everything All the Time, which reached stores in March 2006 and earned strong notices. Brooke, however, skipped the ensuing tour and departed officially in July to focus on another Sub Pop project, Grand Archives. Bridwell continued with Rob Hampton on bass and Creighton Barrett on drums, performing across the United States and Europe behind the first record.
After extensive roadwork, Bridwell left Seattle for South Carolina to stay nearer his family. The band soon reconvened with Phil Ek to track its second album. Cease to Begin arrived in October 2007 to glowing notices and reached number 35 on the Billboard charts, marking the group’s initial blend of commercial traction and critical favor. Although most of the next two years were spent touring, the musicians also returned to the studio in 2009 to begin a third album.
All five current members contributed songs this time, turning Infinite Arms into a collective effort involving Bridwell, Barrett, and newcomers Ryan Monroe, Tyler Ramsey, and Bill Reynolds. The set appeared in mid-2010 as the band’s first Columbia release and earned a Grammy nomination for its lush country-rock palette. Seeking a more grounded fourth album, the group enlisted legendary producer Glyn Johns, whose work with the Rolling Stones and the Who encouraged a tighter, live-in-the-room method that tempered earlier experimental leanings. Mirage Rock, introduced by the single “Knock, Knock,” followed in September 2012. Early 2014 brought the live document Acoustic at the Ryman, drawn from two stripped-down nights recorded at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in spring 2013.
While preparing material for a fifth studio album, Bridwell joined fellow Columbia, South Carolina native Sam Beam of Iron & Wine for the 2015 covers collection Sing Into My Mouth, which interpreted shared influences from Talking Heads, John Cale, and Sade. Band of Horses released its fifth LP, Why Are You OK?, in June 2016 through Interscope and Rick Rubin’s American Recordings imprint; Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle served as co-producer with Rubin credited as executive producer. In mid-2017 Ramsey and Reynolds exited, later replaced by Ian McDougall and former bassist Matt Gentling. The band maintained an active touring schedule across the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom, yet new material did not surface until the single “Clutch” in October 2021. Bridwell and Wolfgang Zimmerman produced the sixth album, Things Are Great, which appeared in early 2022.
