Trotting to the Front
The 10 songs that make up Everything All the Time, the charming and haunting debut by Seattle-based Band of Horses, were culled from the first batch of songs ever written by Ben Bridwell. It may not seem like much: surely other artists have been able to deliver quality on their first outing either through beginner's luck or prodigious talent, but in Bridwell's case, his first foray as a bandleader has been met with mountains of praise in the indie rock world that has already outpaced his previous band, the slo-core outfit Carissa's Wierd (sic.). After Carissa's quiet farewell in 2003, Bridwell started his own project, using all the instruments lying unused in his former band's practice space.
His songs, which run the gambit from jangly, driving rockers ("Wicked Gil") to plaintive, expansive dirges ("The Funeral") to subdued, gentle ballads ("St. Augustine"), exude elements of his Southern hometown of Columbia, S.C. His gauzy voice, made gauzier by reverb-which allows him to hear his voice better during performances-has been compared to Neil Young's in timbre and weight. While the reverb may cover up insecurities, it sits sweetly on the bed of tones that he wrings out of his guitar and the instruments-such as the sprightly picked banjo-employed by former Carissa's songwriter Mat Brooke.
Another hallmark of Horses' songs-and the one that invalidates comparisons to the oft-longwinded My Morning Jacket-is their brevity. On "I Go to the Barn Because I Like The," Bridwell and Brooke lock into a breathless harmony over a single strummed guitar that could go on forever, but that they cut short just after the three minute mark.
Now, on his first headlining tour as frontman, Bridwell is feeling more comfortable as a songwriter, and better than in his days as drummer. He's not only having to remember lyrics, sing and play guitar, he's also serving as a walking billboard for some of his other artist friends.
Just ask him about the three lions puking blood tattooed on his body. "It's kind of putting my friend on blast, advertising for his art," Bridwell says. "I have another tattoo on the other side of my neck that another friend of mine did of a crippled Jesus."