Infinite Arms
by Band of Horses
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: May 18, 2010
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 64 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 64
  3. Negative: 6 out of 64

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  1. JeffK.
    May 27, 2010
    3
    This is a major disappointing effort. Totally uninspired in a similar way to the last Wilco and Kings of Leon albums were. The transition to a major label must have influenced the sound and tempo of this album. Can't find one song that ranks even near the worst songs of their first two albums, of which their was no bad songs on those records. Hopefully this is just a bump in the road This is a major disappointing effort. Totally uninspired in a similar way to the last Wilco and Kings of Leon albums were. The transition to a major label must have influenced the sound and tempo of this album. Can't find one song that ranks even near the worst songs of their first two albums, of which their was no bad songs on those records. Hopefully this is just a bump in the road for them and the next album will be more true to their original sound.… Expand
  2. TomB
    May 25, 2010
    3
    3 pts for Factory. The rest is uninspired bilge. Man have these guys fallen quickly.
  3. BH
    Jun 17, 2010
    3
    This album really has a markedly different feel than the previous two. Band of Horses seems to be trying to innovate their sound towards something new, and on some tracks they pull it off. But on other tracks, it just sounds like they've been sitting around smoking pot with the Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, and the Decemberists for the past year. We're left with a more generic, This album really has a markedly different feel than the previous two. Band of Horses seems to be trying to innovate their sound towards something new, and on some tracks they pull it off. But on other tracks, it just sounds like they've been sitting around smoking pot with the Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, and the Decemberists for the past year. We're left with a more generic, forgettable album. Instead of the wonderfully mix of dreaminess (i.e. The First Song) and punchy-ness (i.e. Ode to LRC) of earlier albums, this just sounds lazy and flat. Not only are the songs themselves lackluster, but the mixing on this album sounds like it was recorded with the entire band wrapped in foam mattresses - it's much less atmospheric than previous work, and sounds nothing like a live show and everything like a recording studio. It will be interesting to see what they do on their next release; if they can take some of the changes introduced on this album and craft it into something more unique, it could be great. But as for this album: it's just another soggy rice krispy floating in the musical milk; no snap, crackle, or pop.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Most Discussed Album of 2010
79
#79 Most Shared Album of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Alternative Press
    60
    At its best, Arms is a pleasant album, one that sounds good on the surface or as background music. For most bands, that's perfectly acceptable. But for a group like Band Of Horses--whose ambitions have always intersected with being meaningful and transcendent, too--somehow just being acceptable makes Arms fall short.
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  2. BBC Music
    70
    Fans of the band, and those with a rustling liking for a certain kind of beard-here-now Americana, will devour this like a bottle of the Bartles & Jaymes wine cooler referenced on the last track.
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  3. Drowned In Sound
    80
    Their third album Infinite Arms glows with that familiar sound, a sound born with an American heart.
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