Mirage Rock

Mirage Rock
Studio album by Band of Horses
Released September 18, 2012 (2012-09-18)
Recorded Sunset Sound Studios, California
Genre Alternative rock
Length 45:17
Label Columbia
Producer Glyn Johns
Band of Horses chronology
Infinite Arms
(2010)		 Mirage Rock
(2012)		 Why Are You OK
(2016)
Singles from Mirage Rock
  1. "Knock Knock"
    Released: July 10, 2012
  2. "Slow Cruel Hands of Time"
    Released: September 5, 2012
  3. "Feud"
    Released: November 26, 2012
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100 (29 Critics)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Consequence of Sound[2]
Drowned in Sound[3]
Earbuddy(3.1/10)[4]
The Guardian[5]
American Songwriter[6]
Paste[7]
Q Magazine[8]
NME[9]
The A.V. ClubB-[10]
Pitchfork(4.0/10.0)[11]
Slant Magazine[12]
Spin[13]
Filter[14]
Allmusic[15]
Rolling Stone[16]

Mirage Rock is the fourth studio album by Band of Horses and was released on September 18, 2012 on Columbia Records.[17] Produced by Glyn Johns, the album was preceded by the single, "Knock Knock".[18]

While the album was initially met with generally favorable reviews, the band and fans alike have since become quite critical of it, with Bridwell admitting Mirage Rock to be stilted and insincere.[19] Songs from the album have been rarely performed since the album's promotional tour, with the exception of "Everything's Gonna Be Undone" and "Long Vows" making one-off appearances during the Why Are You OK tour.[20]

Pre-release

In April 2012, lead singer, Ben Bridwell, revealed that Band of Horses' fourth studio album was scheduled for release in late-2012, with production by Glyn Johns.[21] In June 2012, via Facebook and YouTube, the band shared a video preview of a new song, "Dumpster World," and confirmed a September 2012 release for the album.[22]

On July 10, 2012, the fourth album's title was confirmed as Mirage Rock, and the track listing and artwork were also unveiled. Bridwell has stated that there is no such place as Mirage Rock and explained that the name "is a total piss take."[23] Prior to the official launch of Mirage Rock on September 18, "Knock Knock" and "Slow Cruel Hands of Time" were released as previews of the album. On September 10, 2012, the entire album was streamed on both the Band of Horses Soundcloud page and the official website.[24]

Just prior to the album's release, the track "Mirage Rock" was made available on the internet. Although this is billed as the "title track" it does not appear on the regular version of the album, but is one of five tracks on the deluxe edition of Mirage Rock. These five tracks were recorded at the Sonic Ranch studios in Texas.[25]

Recording

Bridwell explained that Johns recorded Mirage Rock with both "analogue and live" technology, with the album having "a looser vibe than our previous records." He described the album as "haphazard...loose and raw at times...letting our hair down," with "more humour" and a "celebratory vibe."[26] In a UK interview he added that, "Everything was different. We’ve played live to tape on albums before but not to the degree of it being so dire that every member had to really hone their part for the sake of the take."[27]

Reception


Mirage Rock has received generally favourable reviews. It currently has an aggregate score of 68 out of 100 from 29 professional reviews on the Metacritic website.[1]

The album was ranked number 50 on American Songwriter's and number 19 on Rolling Stone's lists of the top 50 albums of 2012.[28] Rolling Stone said, "They conjure the embroidered-blue-jean countryrock of The Eagles (whose first LPs were helmed by Johns) and spike it with punk noise and a 21st-century bloodshot optimism." [29]

The album debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200,[30] number 4 on the Alternative Albums chart and number 7 on the Rock Albums chart,[31] selling around 24,000 copies in the first week. It has sold 75,000 copies in the United States as of May 2016.[32]

The single "Knock Knock" was a minor hit in Belgium, reaching number 73 in the singles chart.[33] The follow-up single "Slow Cruel Hands of Time" peaked at number 68.[34]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Knock Knock"  Bridwell and Bill Reynolds 3:58
2. "How to Live"  Bridwell and Reynolds 3:27
3. "Slow Cruel Hands of Time"  Bridwell 3:50
4. "A Little Biblical"  Bridwell and Reynolds 2:54
5. "Shut-In Tourist"  Bridwell and Tyler Ramsey 4:09
6. "Dumpster World"  Bridwell 3:43
7. "Electric Music"  Bridwell and Reynolds 3:32
8. "Everything's Gonna Be Undone"  Ramsey 3:19
9. "Feud"  Bridwell 2:56
10. "Long Vows"  Bridwell 3:43
11. "Heartbreak on the 101"  Bridwell, Reynolds and Ramsey 4:01
Bonus tracks
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
12. "Ego Nightmare" (iTunes bonus track)Bridwell 3:26

Sonic Ranch Sessions

The deluxe version of the album includes an EP, titled Sonic Ranch Sessions. It was recorded in El Paso, Texas at Sonic Ranch Studio and produced by the band.

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Mirage Rock"  Bridwell  
2. "Irmo Bats"  Bridwell  
3. "Relly's Dream"  Bridwell and Ryan Monroe  
4. "Catalina"  Bridwell and Ramsey  
5. "Bock"  Bridwell  

Album credits

Band of Horses

Additional musicians

  • Eric Gorfain - string arrangements and violin (11)
  • Daphne Chen - violin (11)
  • Lauren Chipman - viola (11)
  • Richard Dodd - cello (11)

Recording personnel

Artwork

  • Christopher Wilson - photography
  • Dave Bett - design

Sonic Ranch Sessions

  • Band of Horses - producer
  • Jason Kingsland - engineer, mixing
  • Manuel Calderon - assistant engineer
  • Bill Reynolds - mixing
  • Adam Ayan - mastering

Charts

Chart Peak
Australian Albums Chart[35] 21
Austrian Albums Chart[35] 61
Belgian Flanders Albums Chart[35] 27
Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[35] 115
Danish Albums Chart[35] 9
Dutch Albums Chart[35] 55
German Albums Chart[35] 72
Irish Albums Chart[36]20
New Zealand Albums Chart[35]21
Norwegian Albums Chart[35] 9
Spanish Albums Chart[35] 24
Swedish Albums Chart[35] 15
Swiss Albums Chart[35] 35
UK Albums Chart[37] 20
US Billboard 200[38] 13
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[39] 4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[40] 7
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[41] 5
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[42] 8

References

  1. 1 2 "Mirage Rock - Band of Horses" Metacritic
  2. ↑ Gerber, Justin "Album Review: Band of Horses – Mirage Rock" Consequence of Sound - September 18, 2012
  3. ↑ Burrows, Mark "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Drowned in Sound - September 12, 2012
  4. ↑ Downey, John (2012-10-22). "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock Review". Earbuddy. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  5. ↑ Hann, Michael "Band of Horses: Mirage Rock – review" The Guardian - September 13, 2012
  6. ↑ Terich, Jeff "Band of Horses: Mirage Rock" American Songwriter - September 14, 2012
  7. ↑ Reed, Ryan "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Paste - September 18, 2012
  8. ↑ "Mirage Rock - Band of Horses" Metacritic (Q Magazine - October 2012 edition, P93)
  9. ↑ Wright, Lisa "Band Of Horses - Mirage Rock" NME - September 14, 2012
  10. ↑ Inman, Davis "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" The A.V. Club - September 18, 2012
  11. ↑ Hyden, Steven "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Pitchfork - September 19, 2012
  12. ↑ Keefe, Jonathan "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Slant Magazine - September 17, 2012
  13. ↑ Cavalieri, Nate "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Spin - September 21, 2012
  14. ↑ Frodus, Fred "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Filter - September 19, 2012
  15. ↑ Wilkinson, James "Band of Horses - Mirage Rock" Allmusic - September 17, 2012
  16. ↑ Dolan, Jon "Mirage Rock - Album Review" Rolling Stone - September 25, 2012
  17. ↑ Kane, Tyler "Band of Horses announce new album Mirage Rock" Paste - July 10, 2012
  18. ↑ Stephen Thompson (24 August 2012). "First Watch: Band Of Horses, 'Knock Knock'". npr music. NPR. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  19. ↑ Wilson, Christopher Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell on Embracing 'Wack-Ass Style' Rolling Stone - June 10, 2016
  20. ↑ "Band of Horses Album Statistics - setlist.fm". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Blanton, Kristen "Watch Band of Horses Perform New Track Long Vows" Paste - April 18, 2012
  22. ↑ Nelson, Michael Preview Band Of Horses "Dumpster World" Stereogum - June 22, 2012
  23. ↑ Marchese, David "Band of Horses Get Back in the Saddle For New Mirage Rock" Spin - August 2, 2012
  24. ↑ Battan, Carrie "Stream Band of Horses' New Album Mirage Rock" Pitchfork - September 10, 2012
  25. ↑ "BAND OF HORSES AND THIS AIN'T NO MIRAGE" recordstoreday.com - September 14, 2012
  26. ↑ Straw, David "Band of Horses - Interview September 2012" Contactmusic.com - September 2012
  27. ↑ Cosyns, Simon "Band of Horses: How the hell we made it this far is unfathomable" The Sun - September 14, 2012
  28. ↑ "American Songwriter’s Top 50 Albums Of 2012" American Songwriter - December 4, 2012
  29. ↑ "19 - Band of Horses, Mirage Rock" Rolling Stone - December 5, 2012
  30. ↑ "The Billboard 200". Billboard. October 6, 2012.
  31. ↑ "Rock Albums Albums". Billboard. October 6, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Band of Horses - Knock Knock" Ultratop
  34. ↑ "Band of Horses - Slow Cruel Hands of Time" Ultratop
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mirage Rock Ultratop entry - Ultratop
  36. ↑ "TOP 75 ARTIST ALBUM, WEEK ENDING 20 September 2012" GFK Chart Track
  37. ↑ "Band Of Horses"(Link redirected to OCC website) Chart Stats
  38. ↑ "Band of Horses – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Band of Horses.
  39. ↑ "Band of Horses – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Band of Horses.
  40. ↑ "Band of Horses – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Band of Horses.
  41. ↑ "Band of Horses – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Band of Horses.
  42. ↑ "Band of Horses – Chart history" Billboard Vinyl Albums for Band of Horses.

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