Band of Horses started in Seattle, and even after they moved back to South Carolina a few years ago, we've continued to feel a sense of hometown pride for them, thanks to their first two albums, 2006's stellar Everything All the Time and 2007's not-as-great-but-still-solid Cease to Begin. But this year brought a couple of changes: Band of Horses left Sub Pop for Columbia Records, and in May released the seriously underwhelming Infinite Arms. Arms had none of the whirlwind spirit of the band's earlier music; instead, it was packed with snoozers and pretty-but-boring tracks. A few songs came with music videos that were more like travel ads: quiet landscapes, with an occasional elk walking by, and nothing else. What happened to the rough and rowdy Band of Horses that wrote songs about weed parties and wore bear hats on stage? You can keep 'em now, South Carolina. ?Erin K. Thompson