Mirage Rock
| Mirage Rock | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
| Studio album by Band of Horses | ||||||||||
| Released | September 18, 2012 | |||||||||
| Recorded | Sunset Sound Studios, California | |||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||||||||
| Length | 45:17 | |||||||||
| Label | Columbia | |||||||||
| Producer | Glyn Johns | |||||||||
| Band of Horses chronology | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100 (29 Critics) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound |    |
| Drowned in Sound |   |
| Earbuddy | (3.1/10) |
| The Guardian | |
| American Songwriter | |
| Paste |  |
| Q Magazine | |
| NME | |
| The A.V. Club | B- |
| Pitchfork | (4.0/10.0) |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Spin | |
| Filter | |
| Allmusic | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Mirage Rock is the fourth studio album by Band of Horses and was released on September 18, 2012 on Columbia Records. Produced by Glyn Johns, the album was preceded by the single, "Knock Knock".
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. Songs from the album have been rarely performed since the album's promotional tour.
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. 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.
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." 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.
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.
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." 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."
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.
...
Wikipedia