Cease to Begin
by: Band of Horses
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Band of Horses now rest in the hands of South Carolina tenant Ben Bridwell following the departure of his right-hand man Mat Brooke, who bolted to form Grand Archives following the 2006 inauguration Everything All the Time, and the impassioned Bridwell validates out of the blocks, leading off the follow-up album with "Is There a Ghost," an exquisite chunk of pure-pop bliss. With a voice that lands somewhere between the euphoria of Brian Wilson and the anguish of the late Chris Bell (Big Star), Bridwell (and core mates Rob Hampton and Creighton Barrett) appears a modern archetype behind a playlist that teeters among tender ("No One's Gonna Love Me," "Window Blues"), twang ("Marry Song," "Detlef Schrempf"), and turbulent ("Cigarettes, Wedding Bands," the aforementioned "Is There a Ghost"). Using the same producer and regal m.o. as on the debut, Cease punctuates its magnitude among Sub Pop's top-drawer power elite (The Shins and Iron & Wine), asserting this Band of Horses' fast-rising run for the roses. --Scott Holter
Product Description:
Released in March of 2006, Band of Horsesdebut Everything All the Time made good on the
promise hinted at in their early shows and demos. The band went from early shows opening for
friends Iron & Wine, to playing on The Late Show with David Letterman by July, and being nominated
as one of ten finalists (along with Joanna Newsom, Beirut, Tom Waits, and, the eventual winner,
Cat Power) for the Shortlist Music Prize for that same year. And the record was well-received
critically, with celebratory press in Spin, Entertainment Weekly, NY Times, Harp, Billboard, Pitchfork,
Magnet, NME, Uncut, and a slew of others. Not a bad place to start.
For a lot of reasons, Cease to Begin is the perfect title for this new record. Not only do the
songs themselves weave this theme through the record, but stopping and starting anew is also
a reflection of the past year and a half for Band of Horses. Though they worked with producer
Phil Ek again, as they did on Everything All the Time, much has changed between the fairly
recent then and now. There have been band members who have come and gone, including Mat
Brooke, who left the band to pursue other interests and his own band. For core members Ben
Bridwell, Rob Hampton and Creighton Barrett, there has been a move from Seattle, WA to Mt.
Pleasant, SC, a relocation that had been planned for some time so that they could all be closer
to their families. And, close friends and family have come and gone some far too early. Necessarily
shot through with these experiences, the songs on Cease to Begin are strikingly beautiful, if less
elliptical and more straightforward, with more sophisticated arrangements than the last record.
Band of Horses now rest in the hands of South Carolina tenant Ben Bridwell following the departure of his right-hand man Mat Brooke, who bolted to form Grand Archives following the 2006 inauguration Everything All the Time, and the impassioned Bridwell validates out of the blocks, leading off the follow-up album with "Is There a Ghost," an exquisite chunk of pure-pop bliss. With a voice that lands somewhere between the euphoria of Brian Wilson and the anguish of the late Chris Bell (Big Star), Bridwell (and core mates Rob Hampton and Creighton Barrett) appears a modern archetype behind a playlist that teeters among tender ("No One's Gonna Love Me," "Window Blues"), twang ("Marry Song," "Detlef Schrempf"), and turbulent ("Cigarettes, Wedding Bands," the aforementioned "Is There a Ghost"). Using the same producer and regal m.o. as on the debut, Cease punctuates its magnitude among Sub Pop's top-drawer power elite (The Shins and Iron & Wine), asserting this Band of Horses' fast-rising run for the roses. --Scott Holter
Product Description:
Released in March of 2006, Band of Horsesdebut Everything All the Time made good on the
promise hinted at in their early shows and demos. The band went from early shows opening for
friends Iron & Wine, to playing on The Late Show with David Letterman by July, and being nominated
as one of ten finalists (along with Joanna Newsom, Beirut, Tom Waits, and, the eventual winner,
Cat Power) for the Shortlist Music Prize for that same year. And the record was well-received
critically, with celebratory press in Spin, Entertainment Weekly, NY Times, Harp, Billboard, Pitchfork,
Magnet, NME, Uncut, and a slew of others. Not a bad place to start.
For a lot of reasons, Cease to Begin is the perfect title for this new record. Not only do the
songs themselves weave this theme through the record, but stopping and starting anew is also
a reflection of the past year and a half for Band of Horses. Though they worked with producer
Phil Ek again, as they did on Everything All the Time, much has changed between the fairly
recent then and now. There have been band members who have come and gone, including Mat
Brooke, who left the band to pursue other interests and his own band. For core members Ben
Bridwell, Rob Hampton and Creighton Barrett, there has been a move from Seattle, WA to Mt.
Pleasant, SC, a relocation that had been planned for some time so that they could all be closer
to their families. And, close friends and family have come and gone some far too early. Necessarily
shot through with these experiences, the songs on Cease to Begin are strikingly beautiful, if less
elliptical and more straightforward, with more sophisticated arrangements than the last record.
Disc 1:
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Pretty potent
3 1/2
Effective sophomore continues expanding their countrified rock sonic's but is too short to afford the few underwhelming tracks I detected.
Rating: 
- Does not get much better than this
It is hard to find great band these days, but this is one of them. This album is perfect from start to finish. If you like groups like flaming lips, Smashing Pumpkins(gish days),Death cab for cutie, or Sparkle Horse then you will probably enjoy this album.
Rating: - Great cd! I would recommend to anyone
This is one of 3 cds I have actually wasted money on in the last 5 years that is by a new band...I absolutely love it! I am going to go back and buy the first one. Instead of liner notes it came with a beautiful collection of printed snap shots taken by a band member. The guys voice reminds me so much of Parry Ferrell, but even better. I like every song off of this cd but especially Is there a ghost, and no one gonna love you. I look forward to catching these guys live. It is so refreshing to hear ... Read More
Rating: - Nice work
This is my first Horses CD and was a pleasant surprise.I read on Twitter Lance Armstrong was listening to them and I'm a huge admirer of Lance so I thought I would give them a listen.
The first song is really great and very catchy.The lead singer sounds like Ozzy in this song but their music is not anything like Ozzy's; hot as hard.
The whole CD is good.
Someone compared them to The Shins and I became a fan of The Shins just last year but I got the same enjoyment from this CD ... Read More
Rating: - Better when mixed
I bought this album because I got the title track as a free selection and liked the sound. It was unique and nice to listen to. I was a little disappointed in listening to the complete album because all the songs sound the same. They all have basically the same beat and sound.
I copied the album to my Ipod and now, when the songs come on in shuffle mode, they bring a lot of variety to my play list. It makes my music become more alive. I now look forward to this music.
This ... Read More
- Pretty potent3 1/2
Effective sophomore continues expanding their countrified rock sonic's but is too short to afford the few underwhelming tracks I detected.
- Does not get much better than thisIt is hard to find great band these days, but this is one of them. This album is perfect from start to finish. If you like groups like flaming lips, Smashing Pumpkins(gish days),Death cab for cutie, or Sparkle Horse then you will probably enjoy this album.
- Great cd! I would recommend to anyoneThis is one of 3 cds I have actually wasted money on in the last 5 years that is by a new band...I absolutely love it! I am going to go back and buy the first one. Instead of liner notes it came with a beautiful collection of printed snap shots taken by a band member. The guys voice reminds me so much of Parry Ferrell, but even better. I like every song off of this cd but especially Is there a ghost, and no one gonna love you. I look forward to catching these guys live. It is so refreshing to hear ... Read More
- Nice workThis is my first Horses CD and was a pleasant surprise.I read on Twitter Lance Armstrong was listening to them and I'm a huge admirer of Lance so I thought I would give them a listen.
The first song is really great and very catchy.The lead singer sounds like Ozzy in this song but their music is not anything like Ozzy's; hot as hard.
The whole CD is good.
Someone compared them to The Shins and I became a fan of The Shins just last year but I got the same enjoyment from this CD ... Read More
- Better when mixedI bought this album because I got the title track as a free selection and liked the sound. It was unique and nice to listen to. I was a little disappointed in listening to the complete album because all the songs sound the same. They all have basically the same beat and sound.
I copied the album to my Ipod and now, when the songs come on in shuffle mode, they bring a lot of variety to my play list. It makes my music become more alive. I now look forward to this music.
This ... Read More
