Band of Horses

Band of Horses is an alternative rock band formed in Seattle in 2004 by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke after the dissolution of their previous band Carissa’s Wierd.

Beginning as Horses, the band released a five song demo in 2005 before becoming Band Of Horses and releasing a self-titled EP that same year. While opening for Iron & Wine, BOH attracted the attention of Sub Pop Records who released their 2006 debut album Everything All The Time. It made a moderate impact in both Norway & Sweden.

All members besides Bridwell, including founding member Brooke, left the band before the release of the group’s sophomore effort Cease To Begin. It was a top 40 album in the US, Norway & Denmark aided by the minor success of its two singles “Is There A Ghost” and “No One’s Gonna Love You”. When their contract with Sub Pop expired, BOH signed with Columbia Records, but also chose to work with Fat Possum Records in the US, and maintained the right to release music through Bridwell’s own label Brown Records. The band temporarily expanded to six members at this time, including fellow ex-Carissa’s Wierd member Robin Peringer.

In 2007, the lineup would remain consistant for a decade with Bridwell (vocals/guitar), Ryan Monroe (keyboards) and Creighton Barrett (drums) joined by new members Tyler Ramsey (guitar) and Bill Reynolds (bass). BOH released their Grammy-nominated Infinite Arms in 2010. It was produced by Glyn Johns (Rolling Stones, Who) and features the singles “Laredo” and “Dilly”. The album reached the top 40 in nine countries including the US & UK. Mirage Rock, featuring “Knock Knock” and “Slow Cruel Hands Of Time”, followed in 2012 and also reached the top 40 in nine countries. The stripped-down Acoustic at the Ryman surfaced in 2014. Bridwell collaborated with Iron & Wine on a collection of cover songs titled Sing Into My Mouth the following year.

BOH moved to Interscope Records/American Recordings before the release of 2016’s Why Are You OK. Its lead single “Casual Party” performed well on North American Rock Radio and the follow-up “In A Drawer” was a top 5 US AAA hit, helping the album become their third US top 20 album in a row. It ultimately reached the top 40 in seven countries. Ramsey and Reynolds announced their departure in 2017 (with Bridwell clarifying they were actually fired).

When Spotify executive Chris Bevington was killed in a terrorism incident that year, Bridwell performed “No One’s Gonna Love You” with two other musicians at his funeral at the request of the widow, then released a recording of it as “No One’s Gonna Love You (Stockholm Edition)”.

In 2022, BOH released a collection of songs written three years earlier about depression, sardonically titled Things Are Great, which was originally recorded with producers Jason Lytle and Dave Fridmann but scrapped and redone with Ryan “Wolfie” Zimmerman.