Band of Horses
Mirage Rock

...And the last one closes the door!... as Nick Carter would say.

The American Horses from Seattle, aka the Band of Horses, have reached their fourth album and have decided to change course, at least in terms of production, in fact, Glyn Johns ("the one" from the Who and the Clash...) has decided to make them more British, or perhaps he has become more Americanized.

They were certainly an indie rock and country band worthy of attention and I'd say successful: I've seen they're not unknown on DeB, just remember "Cease To Begin" and "Everything All The Time"...

I could write a review in the past tense or imperfect: they were this..., they were that..., but that's not nice, all in all "Mirage Rock" can help you spend some time in the company of a completely "natural" rock, no distorted sounds, not too many keyboards, just a bit of echo and little more. It makes you think that you could play most of the tracks at a gathering with friends by the sea, maybe on a late summer night, and you might even feel like singing without risking to "screw up" badly...

In short, it seems that the intentions, perhaps not so hidden, are to offer the public a more catchy, more commercial, a bit more pop and less rock product: certainly (Knock Knock) and (How to Live) are the best tracks, along with the (title track), but the rest you'll listen to without giving much thought.

On the other hand, if the author writes this:

"The idea behind the title is that I thought it would be fun if someone heard my music from a certain distance and came closer, only to find out that there was nothing there. In short, the title is an actual joke about how someone might perceive my own songwriting". (Ben Bridwell)

Can we think of changing the natural history of this album or if you prefer the Band of Horses?