When the brooding, anthemic Band Of Horses formed,
it was out of the ashes of the Seattle cult indie folk-rock group Carissa's
Wierd; now, Carissa's frontman Mat Brooke has departed Band Of Horses for
something a little closer to the first band, though a lot more buoyant. (Which,
admittedly, isn't all that hard.) That's partly due to Grand Archives' vocal
harmony work—all four members sing (most obviously on the '70s
rock-meets-sea-shanty track, "The Crime Window," more subtly on the wispy
backing vocals on the 90-second album-closer, "Orange Juice"), and much of the
band's material has a lightness of touch that works as a welcome contrast to
Band Of Horses' more searching aspects. Brooke still favors slow-ish tempos,
and a chorus like "Index Moon"'s builds in a grandiose manner, but he sounds
like he's relaxed and happy, and so does his band.