Giddy up pardners.
'The Funeral' may be Band of Horses debut UK release but the act has been kicking around America for a few years and this track has been featured in a few TV shows and films, so it may not be completely new for some people.
And even if it is new, it may have a touch of familiarity, as this song may be an indication that Band of Horses deserves to be viewed along the same lines as other American sky-scraping dreamers such as Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev or The Shins. This brand of music has grown ever more popular in recent years and shows no sign of diminishing.
The use of melodies that reach and convey that cracked, beautiful emotion over instrumentation that ranges from almost non-existent to stadium-filling clang would not be out of place from any of the afore-mentioned acts, and its hard to think of a better compliment than that.
Being called 'The Funeral', its obvious the song is tailor made for these American TV dramas that uses music to show (in a not very subtle manner) emotion or to allow some wistful shots of cast members looking sad but the song works in this setting and gives the impression that it would impress live also. With that in mind, Band of Horses must be doing something right.
The closing rally gets some excitement going and its only after the tracks subsides that you realise its lasted over five minutes. The next thing you realise is that you've whipped the track back to the start to listen to it all over again.
Good stuff all-round.