Anyone flipping around the late night TV talk shows last night (May 20) may have found it jarring to find Slayer and the rather more genial Band of Horses vying for attention. But while the latter couldn’t count on numerous devil signs being thrown at them, they still managed to deliver an affecting performance of “Laredo” from Infinite Arms.
After the success of the National, and record sales plummeting to a near all-time low, the floodgates are cracking open, and it will be interesting to see where Infinite Arms figures in the Billboard chart next week. As this performance demonstrates, Ben Bridwell and his group certainly have enough commercial pop hooks in their music to increase their audience dramatically. Letterman appears to agree: “That’s all you need right there,” he says, at the close of the song.
I can't find a way into this song.
Although I do sense a (very purposeful) broader commercial appeal.
I can't find a way into pretty much any track off infinite arms... totally disappointing imo.
I haven't spent time with the whole thing yet, but they seem to have sacrificed whatever it was that made their earlier stuff so effective.
This sounds a bit better than the studio version, but I'm with you Brandon. There's something vital missing on Infinite Arms. Also, is it really too much for Bridwell to play the rhythm guitar here? And does the bass player travel separately in his own windowless van?
I like how the guitars sound here. The problem is Ben's run out of town pretty much everyone he worked with on the first 2 albums -minus the drummer. The way they're going, they'll be opening for an Alabama reunion(don't know if that's possible). They -Ben- needs to move back west. If not Seattle, SF or Portland. The haunting, raw indie vibe they had is almost non-existent. Still very talented though.
Awesome performance- I've been really digging the new BOH stuff. For anyone that hasn't heard the album yet you can stream for free here: http://stream.bandofhorses.com/
MattKlomp