BANDS

Indie-folkers Band of Horses couldn't be dragged away from van troubles, but Film School had an even worse week.

Horses' twists and turns of fate

Some things just happen. Take Band of Horses' tour van, for instance. Traversing the Rocky Mountains in a bitter snowstorm this week, the Seattle band dodged jackknifed trucks and stalled vehicles on a white-knuckle 10-hour drive to Denver — only to wreck the van hitting a curb in a residential area.

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The evolution of Sub Pop Records' newest darlings — whose debut "Everything All the Time" comes out Tuesday — was similarly fateful, only the wreckage came first. That would have been the breakup of Carissa's Wierd, the sad-music specialists anchored by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke for nearly a decade.

"At first we thought about forming a new band, but it seemed like we were laboring," says Bridwell, who started writing songs and working with Chris Early and Tim Mienig before talking Brooke (and now Joe Narnone) into joining them. "It all happened by accident."

Judging from the Horses' shimmering, sylvan pop, it was a happy one. Tours with like-minded Okkervil River and Iron and Wine helped the quintet find an audience, and "Everything," which wears its sadness and hope like a wistful smile, has earned comparisons to the Americana-tinged rock of My Morning Jacket and the ragged pop of the Shins.

"Lately some people have been questioning the originality of the music," Bridwell says good-naturedly. "At least now people can hear for themselves on the record. But, hey, it's good company."

Band of Horses hits town Wednesday, opening for Earlimart at King King.

Film School needs gift of gear

Film School, the San Francisco quintet featured here Jan. 19, is relying on the generosity of fans and strangers alike after the band's tour van — with all equipment inside — was stolen from a lighted, guarded hotel parking lot in Philadelphia last week. The thieves sawed through the steering wheel to remove a Club, hot-wired the ignition and drove the van through a fence to make their getaway, according to reports. The band was forced to cancel some shows; others went on with borrowed gear. Newspaper and online accounts that directed readers to www.filmschoolmusic.com have resulted in some donations for new gear, but the band (which has shows this week at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, and April 1 at the Troubadour) needs more.

Fast forward

The record-release show for "Box," the debut by L.A. quartet Mellowdrone, goes off Friday at the Troubadour....Singer-songwriter Gus Black celebrates the release of his latest album, "Autumn Days," with a show Tuesday at Largo.... Earlimart, still shopping for a new label after departing Palm Pictures last year, is working on a new album, frontman Aaron Espinoza says. Russell Pollard (ex-Alaska! and the Folk Implosion) now mans the drums for the group, which performs Wednesday at King King.... British trio Field Music, whose debut album lands April 4, brings its arty folk-pop to Spaceland on Saturday.... And speaking of arty, Belgian quintet dEUS kicks off a U.S. tour Saturday at the Troubadour in support of its new release "Pocket Revolution." ... Nice lineup next week at the Hotel Café: Nick Drake-like José González on Monday (the Swedish singer-songwriter of Argentine descent also plays at the Jensen Rec Center in Echo Park the next night) and the U.K. quartet Guillemots on Tuesday.... And cheers for the Lashes, Spaceland's resident band on Mondays in March; this week, the Seattle quintet ordered pizzas for the house.



Recommended downloads

Download Band of Horses' "The Funeral" at 67.88.217.34/downloads/free/The_Funeral366.mp3

Stream "Time Lapse" by the Good Listeners at www.myspace.com/thegoodlisteners

Download "Stay in the Shade" by José González at www.parasol.com/labels/hiddenagenda/aha081.asp