Cease to Begin

Cease to Begin
Studio album by Band of Horses
Released October 9, 2007 (2007-10-09)
Recorded Echo Mountain Studios, Asheville, North Carolina
Genre Indie rock
Length 34:45
Label Sub Pop
Producer Phil Ek
Band of Horses chronology
Everything All the Time
(2006)Everything All the Time2006		 Cease to Begin
(2007)		 Infinite Arms
(2010)Infinite Arms2010
Singles from Infinite Arms
  1. "Is There a Ghost"
    Released: August 28, 2007
  2. "No One's Gonna Love You"
    Released: February 25, 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
Blender[4]
The Guardian[5]
NME8/10[6]
Pitchfork Media7.7/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin[10]
Uncut[11]

Cease to Begin is the second album by Band of Horses, released on October 9, 2007.

History

Following the release of their debut album, Everything All the Time, founding members Mat Brooke, Chris Early and Tim Meinig all left the band. Band leader Ben Bridwell recruited Joe Arnone (guitar and keyboards), Creighton Barrett (drums) and Rob Hampton (bass and guitar) as replacements, although Joe Arnone left the band prior to their 2007 tour. Robin Peringer (Modest Mouse - guitar), Matt Gentling (Archers of Loaf - bass) and Ryan Monroe (keyboards) joined the band for the tour, although only Monroe stayed for the recording of Cease to Begin. After the album's release he became a full band member.

The album debuted at number 35 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart[12] and was #47 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[13] It was also a minor hit in Scandinavia, charting in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.[14] Cease to Begin was released in Japan on July 23, 2008 by Tear Bridge Records. The Japanese version featured an enhanced video for "Is There a Ghost" plus three live bonus tracks, including a cover of Ronnie Wood's "Act Together", written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which he recorded for his album, I've Got My Own Album to Do.

Ben Bridwell described the sound of Cease to Begin, "I guess the first record had some kind of country-ish leanings...I think there's maybe a little bit more of [that] feeling on it, a little more down-home...not so much indie rock."[15]

The first track, "Is There a Ghost", was made available for download on the band's MySpace page on August 28, 2007 and made number 93 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[16] The song became the band's first single to chart in the United States, peaking at #34 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[17] The album's second single "No One's Gonna Love You" was featured as a free iTunes download, distributed at Starbucks locations.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Is There a Ghost"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett2:59
2."Ode to LRC"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett4:16
3."No One's Gonna Love You"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett3:37
4."Detlef Schrempf"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett4:28
5."The General Specific"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett, Monroe3:07
6."Lamb on the Lam (In the City)"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett0:50
7."Islands on the Coast"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett3:34
8."Marry Song"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett3:23
9."Cigarettes, Wedding Bands"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett4:35
10."Window Blues"Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett4:01
Japan-only Bonus Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."No One's Gonna Love You" (Live BBC session)Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett 
12."Is There a Ghost" (Live BBC session)Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett 
13."Act Together" (Live BBC session)Jagger, Richards 
14."Is There a Ghost" (Enhanced video)Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett 

Album credits

Band of Horses
Additional musicians
Technical personnel

Singles

Chart performance

Chart Peak
US Billboard 200 35 [12]
UK Albums Chart 148 [19]
Danish Albums Chart 23 [14]
French Albums Chart 199 [14]
Norwegian Albums Chart 18 [14]
Swedish Albums Chart 57 [14]

Reception

Cease to Begin received a 78/100 rating on Metacritic[20] and appeared on many "Best of 2007" lists:

Cover versions

References

  1. ↑ "Reviews for Cease To Begin by Band of Horses". Metacritic. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ Leahey, Andrew. "Cease to Begin – Band of Horses". Metacritic. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ Hyden, Steven (October 9, 2007). "Band Of Horses: Cease To Begin". Metacritic. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  4. ↑ Grierson, Tim. "Band of Horses: Cease to Begin". Blender. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hann, Michael (October 12, 2007). "Band of Horses, Cease to Begin". The Guardian. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ Worthy, Stephen (October 19, 2007). "Band Of Horses: Cease To Begin". NME. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. (October 8, 2007). "Band of Horses: Cease to Begin". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Band of Horses: Cease to Begin". Q (257): 112. December 2007.
  9. ↑ Hoard, Christian (October 18, 2007). "Cease to Begin". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  10. ↑ Modell, Josh (November 2007). "Band of Horses: Everything All the Time". Spin. 23 (11): 114. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Band of Horses: Cease to Begin". Uncut (127): 84. December 2007.
  12. 1 2 Band of Horses > Chart History > Billboard Albums Allmusic
  13. ↑ Guide to the Misguided Stereogum - December 17, 2007
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Cease to Begin Ultratop entry - Ultratop
  15. ↑ The Return of Band of Horses - Cease to Begin eachnotesecure.com - July 20, 2007
  16. ↑ Rolling Stone lists rocklist.net
  17. ↑ Band Of Horses - Is There A Ghost Allmusic
  18. ↑ Tacopino, Joe "Southern Comfort: An Interview with Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell" PopMatters - November 8, 2007
  19. ↑ "1994–2010 > Darren B – David Byrne" Chart Log UK (Zobbel)
  20. ↑ Cease to Begin Metacritic entry Metacritic
  21. ↑ Larry Fitzmaurice, "Cee-Lo Covers Band of Horses' No One's Gonna Love You" Pitchfork - July 1, 2010
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