Infinite Arms is the third album by indie rock band Band of Horses, released on May 18, 2010, on Brown Records, Fat Possum Records and Columbia.Band of Horses Reveal Label(s), Cover Art for New Album Infinite Arms Pitchfork Media - March 8, 2010 Most of the album was recorded in Asheville, North Carolina with some overdubbing done in Los Angeles. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Alternative Album category."53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list" Los Angeles Times
History Shortly after the release of Cease to Begin, keyboard player Ryan Monroe was made a permanent band member. The line-up was further expanded by the addition of Tyler Ramsey (guitar) and Bill Reynolds (bass). The new six piece band toured extensively between the releases of Cease to Begin and Infinite Arms, although Rob Hampton left the band prior to the recording of Infinite Arms.
Infinite Arms was made without assistance or funding from a record label, the band having left Sub Pop. Ben Bridwell explained why he eventually decided to have Brown Records, his own label, involved, "Because I did fund the record myself and (we) produced it ourselves, we just really wanted to make sure that we can have our hands in the pie."Simon Harper, Band of Horses interview Clash - May 19, 2010 Several of the tracks were written by Ben Bridwell whilst staying in a cabin in Minnesota near the Canada–US border.Band of Horses Interview Q Magazine - June 2010 (page 129) - taken from Band of Horses website - April 30, 2010
Bridwell explained why he had said that this was the "first" Band of Horses album, "It's the first time the line-up hasn't been this revolving door. With this record it's a real band that I'm part of. No one's going anywhere, everyone's contributing to the songwriting process..."Bud Scoppa, Infinite Arms review Uncut Magazine - June 2010 (page 98) - taken from Band of Horses website - May 13, 2010
The track "Blue Beard" features drums by Bridwell, the first time he has played drums on a record since he was in Carissa's Wierd, Bridwell explained, "I didn’t even mean to be playing drums on that song. We all took a stab at it. The song wasn’t developing right. I was the last one to go for it and it ended up being the one."Otis R. Taylor Jr. "Will major record label release spoil Columbia's Band of Horses? The State - May 16, 2010 "Evening Kitchen" was written by guitarist Tyler Ramsey and features him sharing lead vocals with Bridwell, while "Older" is written and sung by keyboard player Ryan Monroe. The first single taken from the album is "Compliments" and its official music video was presented on the band's website in April 2010.
Critical reception
Reviews of the album have been generally favourable, it has an overall rating of 69 out of 100 from 31 reviews, on the Metacritic website. Q magazine gave Infinite Arms a 4/5 rating and described it as "The next Great Americana Album." They noted the influence of Neil Young and drew parallels with "The Great American Novel" in literature. Q concluded by saying that, "For all the restlessness of the creative process...this is a strangely domestic affair."Segal, Victoria "Introducing: Band of Horses" Q Magazine - June 2010 (p. 129)
Commercial performance Infinite Arms proved a major international success for Band of Horses, performing well in charts in Europe, Australasia and North America, reaching the top 10 in the US, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Norway and Sweden.
The album sold 73,000 units in first three weeks in United States. As of September 2012, the album has sold 202,000 copies in United States.
Track listing
Personnel Band of Horses Benjamin Bridwell – vocals, guitars, drums, sounds, memotron Creighton Barrett – drums, thunderdrum, percussion Ryan Monroe – keyboards, vocals, percussion, guitar Bill Reynolds – bass, tambourine, guitar, percussion, sounds Tyler Ramsey – guitar, vocals, percussion, keyboards, piano, theremin
Guest musicians Jay Widenhouse – trumpet on "Factory" Dylan Huber – trumpet #2 on "Factory" Dave Wilkens – trombone on "Factory" Clint Fore – tuba on "Factory" Lauren Brown – strings on "Factory"
Production Band of Horses – production Phil Ek – additional production Danny Kadar – engineer (Echo Mountain Recording) Bill Reynolds – engineer (Echo Mountain Recording, Perfect Sound Studios) Jason Donaghy – engineer (Perfect Sound Studios) Benjamin Bridwell – engineer (Perfect Sound Studios) Mimi Audia Parker – engineer (East West Studios) Dave Sardy – mixing Ryan Castle – mix engineer Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Charts ChartPeakpositionAustralian Albums Chart 19 Belgian Flanders Albums Chart 29 Infinite Arms Ultratop entry - UltratopBelgian Wallonia Albums Chart 83Canadian Albums Chart 7"June 5, 2010 - Canadian Albums" BillboardDanish Albums Chart 4 Dutch Albums Chart 64 Finnish Albums Chart 26 French Albums Chart 91 German Albums Chart 88 Greek Albums Chart 4Irish Albums Chart 21 Irish Album Chart Week Ending May 20, 2010 chart-track.co.ukNew Zealand Albums Chart 16 Norwegian Albums Chart 2Swedish Albums Chart 5 Swiss Albums Chart 29 UK Albums Chart 21 "Band Of Horses", Official Charts CompanyUS Billboard 200 7 Infinite Arms >Charts & Awards - Allmusic
References
External links Band of Horses official website