Band Of Horses WHY ARE YOU OK(STD)

When they pegged studio legend Glyn Johns to helm 2012's Mirage Rock, Band of Horses underwent a bit of retooling to ignite some latent rock spark while still offering enough mainstream appeal to sustain them at Columbia Records. While not an overwhelming critical success, the album's easy-riding country-rock vibes were enough to vault it into a significant Top 20 placing on Billboard's pop chart. For their follow-up, 2016's Why Are You OK, they hand over the keys to a less-proven and more experimentally oriented captain in Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle. Along with this sonic shift comes a new partnership with Interscope and American Recordings, offering a change of scenery and a bit of gentle guidance from American honcho -- and executive producer -- Rick Rubin. Tonally, Why Are You OK is a different animal than its predecessor, often placing frontman Ben Bridwell's warm exaltations within the pseudo-synthetic context of droning synth layers and effect-laden atmospherica. Album-opene