Band of Horses, Why Are You OK, album review: Glimmers of the original spirit but overall lacking heart

Too placid to make you really feel

Opening a new album with a seven-minute epic is brave. It suggests total confidence that one song can captivate a listener and convince them to give the rest of the record a spin. Sadly, while “Dull Times: The Moon” is a strong takeoff in parts, much of what follows lacks the full-to-burst yet cleverly restrained heart pervading Band of Horses’ 2006 debut, Everything All the Time.

There are exceptions: first new single “Casual Party” about being caught in “awful conversation” with boring people is, ironically, a blast, while the helplessly catchy “In a Drawer” boasts backing vocals from Dinosaur Jr’s grunge king J Mascis, his gritty drawl complementing frontman Ben Bridwell’s melodic, higher register vocals.

Midway instrumental interlude “Hold On Gimme a Sec” feels unnecessary and “Lying Under Oak” indulges in its summery lethargy a little too much, but the top-tapping country rhythm and reverberating cymbal clashes of “Throw My Mess” reignite lost energy and “Country Teen” has the charming, muted folk rock echoes of Simon & Garfunkel’s 1986 classic “Mrs Robinson”.

Why Are You OK finds dad-of-four Bridwell reflecting honestly on the ennui of everyday, surburban life. Unfortunately, the result is largely forgettable. Despite glimmers of the original Band of Horses spirit, ten years have mellowed an already mellow band, leaving behind something too placid to make you really feel the way early tracks like “The Funeral” and “Is There a Ghost?” did.

Download: “Casual Party”’, “Throw My Mess”, “Dull Times: The Moon”, “Country Teen”

Why Are You OK, out 10 June, Interscope and American Recordings