Ben Bridwell wasn't looking to become a frontman when he started writing songs in 2004; shy by nature, he had been fine in the background as the drummer and bassist for Seattle indie darlings Carissa's Wierd (misspelling intentional) from 1995 to 2003. With fresh songs in hand, it was only natural for the South Carolina native to start a new band with ex-Carissa's mate Mat Brooke.
Bridwell and Brooke, who play guitar, bass, piano, banjo, drums and pedal steel between them, later added Rob Hampton on bass and another former Carissa's drummer, Creighton Barrett, to the fold. They called themselves Horses, later lengthening it to Band Of Horses, and like it or not Bridwell was out front on vocals.
Ironically, Bridwell's soothing, high-pitched tenor — which gets likened to The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, My Morning Jacket's Jim James and early Neil Young —turns out to be a major reason why writers use words like "beautiful," "dreamy" and "ethereal" when describing BOH's music.
Band Of Horses have been busy since 2004, making two albums with producer Phil Ek (Built To Spill, Modest Mouse, The Shins), touring the U.S. and Europe, and moving en masse to South Carolina (without Brooke, who exited in 2006). They have racked up a slew of press accolades and their tunes have been heard in everything from a Ford Edge commercial and video games to TV shows including "One Tree Hill" and "Numb3rs." To cap it off, their debut CD, Everything All The Time, was nominated as a finalist for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize.
Provenance: Seattle, Washington
Latest release: Cease To Begin (2007)
© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
Band Of Horses
