Reviewed on 20th June 2007.

Funeral

By Band Of Horses

Too many bands these days have lost, or never found their mystique in attempt to drive home the harsh facts and harsher reality of our lives. Yes, we know that you are capable of writing songs about defeats and lost girls and nights, it can be seen everywhere we look and it is ingrained on our sensibility. What we need in a world of high speed and higher goals is to take a breath and notice where we are and what we are looking at, like Band Of Horses. Unmistakably like their contemporaries The Shins, yet blessed with a gift of building bridges between the surreal and the absolute with their edgier sound which will make them accessible to the masses.

This ability to advocate daydreams and mystery is embedded within The Funeral, yet it is combined with the confusion and angst of reality, which is created in Bridwell's falsetto voice. Quivering over the boundaries between Arcadia and truth it is beautifully melancholy, atmospheric pop at its purest, which retains complex emotions through the melodies and reverb laden vocals.

Although undisputedly serene, The Funeral recognises the fragility of humans; strips it bare for all to see, which in turn unites us and enables the power of dreams as means of escape. However, these are rather haunting dreams, which keep you wondering 'what if', which, when it comes down to facts, can't be a bad thing, can it?