Thing Are Great, the Seattle indie rock veterans' first new album in six years, is undoubtedly and unanimously great. It is Band of Horses' best and strongest album since their "glory days" from the mid-2000's, over a decade ago.
During the height of the indie rock boom during the mid-2000's, Seattle's very own Band of Horses exploded into the stratosphere with anthems like "The Funeral." There seemed to be a point in time where Band of Horses would in fact be the band everyone is going to rave about for years and years to come. It certainly did seem like that for their first two albums, Everything All the Time and Cease to Begin. Once Mirage Rock arrived in 2012, things started to dissipate. Band members were fluctuating in and out of the lineup, fans seemingly wanted more, and critics continued to be disappointed. I'll admit, after ten years Mirage Rock is still a rough ride; its mixing and production leave a lot to be desired here. But the band, including frontman Ben Bridwell, is still charismatic and wholly talented. Bridwell is one of the best songwriters and singers in popular indie rock and folk and I think many can agree on that. The band started to return to form once Why Are You OK dropped in 2016, giving more variety in the instrumentation and more quality in the songs themselves.
Now, following up that record, comes the band's first new album in six years. Titled Things Are Great, I don't think Ben and the band in fact think things are great. I'd say much of society would agree with them saying that things are in fact not great. Far from it, truly. There are themes of exhaustion due to the weight of the global pandemic (the most common theme in current music, especially in guitar-based indie rock music) across the record (look to "In Need of Repair") while also covering tragedy ("Lights") and love ("Crutch"). By first listen, you will immediately hear the higher quality whether it's from the production, songwriting, and/or performing. The crisp, loud, and booming instrumentation can be heard directly from the album's opening track "Warning Signs." Bridwell still sounds as great as he's always been, the guitars can hit hard, especially on this track. What an opener, especially after six years of absence. "Crutch" is a lead single and the album's best and most captivating moment. The layered guitars and harmonies are perfect bliss, harking back to the good old days from the past. It's dreamily euphoric and it's one of the best songs of 2022, no question.
"In the Hard Times" and "In Need of Repair" are two prime examples of thematic songwriting that cover the hardships and turmoil from the past couple of years. Although they can picture dreariness at points ("I'm sitting in my usual chair, feeling the walls around me close in") the songs themselves act as a healing and retrospective reaction. I also will wholeheartedly agree with Bridwell on the latter of the two songs, singing that "shit's crazy," "it sucks," and "it's bad." I appreciate his simply blunt and to-the-point sentiment; I honestly don't think we get that enough these days. "Tragedy of the Commons" is one of the band's most gorgeous instrumentals in a long while. Those harmonies! The glistening guitars on "Aftermath" are stunning and remind me of some of the prettiest My Morning Jacket songs from The Waterfall albums. "Lights" recalls Bridwell's home being broken into and lights from the cops shining all on him as he returns to his home from traveling. It's a more straightforward tune structurally but still engaging nonetheless.
Listening to the album numerous times in its initial release in early March, I believe that it's unanimously decided by the general public that Things Are Great is the band's best and strongest album since the band's "glory days" from the mid-2000's. I couldn't agree more. The production and mixing is vibrant and clear thanks to Ben Bridwell himself along with Wolfgang Zimmerman. The ten songs are tight, consistently enjoyable and impressive for a band that has undoubtedly achieved veteran status at this point. Although Band of Horses aren't the most experimental or varietal band out there, especially when compared to fellow Seattleites Fleet Foxes, they're still providing tried and true indie rock that a fairly large group of listeners still crave for. And that's completely fine! Things Are Great is... great and it's Band of Horses at their best in over a decade.
My Rating: 7 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Crutch," "In Need of Repair," "Warning Signs," "Tragedy of the Commons"
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