Mirage Rock by Band of Horses

With the release of their new album Band of Horses is making a strong attempt at moving to next step of success. Acclaim and praise is not new for this band, previous albums have met with strong critical reviews and songs such as The Funeral and No One's Gonna Love You are of that group of songs that more people know than think they do, attribution to the band is still less.

Mirage Rock is a deeper record with nods to seventies rock, The Byrds, and for those looking for the most perfect comparison a review of nineties Jayhawks would be a good place to start.

The opening track Knock, Knock is a song destined to be popular, following that How to Live stronger still. The first true hit of the album is Slow Cruel Hands of Time. With sweet guitar, perfect harmonies and a haunting lyric everything good and yet everything limited in this album becomes apparent. I have to say that if I close my eyes and someone told me this was a track from Smile of Town Hall by The Jayhawks, albums I am not as familiar with as I should be, I would accept that information. The Jayhawks are a wonderful band, one of my favorites, and have a niche fanbase that is as dedicated as one can find. They were never a commercial success. It would appear Band of Horses must know in this day of teeny pop and rap music that their audience is limited.

A Little Biblical, Everything's Gonna Be Undone, and especially Heartbreak on the 101 are killer tracks that will be on many playlists from those in the know. This is a band I would go see and a band that will continue to develop their fan base with albums like this.

Perhaps Band of Horses is an indictment on popular music, unless a band such as this puts their songs on Grey's Anatomy, the chances of a major breakthrough are limited. Perhaps that is a good thing for fans of a band such as this.

This is a very good album

Grey's Anatomy Season Finale

We watched the Grey's Anatomy season finale last night. At the end of each season it appears that the shows creators try to do something dramatic.

This year it was a plane crash. When Lexie died it was very sad as she was one of the more likable characters on the show. Perhaps the most telling comment during the episode comes from Dr. Yang as stuck in the woods, in shock, helping Gray look for Shepard she says " If we get saved the first thing I am doing is leaving Seattle Grace. " This hospital is cursed. Certainly it seems to be.

A stretch to reality? Sure. The show is however well written, with characters that are not always cookie cutter. It succeeds on a soapy level without being dumb. The finale was strong as well even if a plane crash was a bit predictable...if anything on this show ever could be.