Cease to Begin

Cease to Begin is the second album by Band of Horses, released on October 9, 2007. This album solidified the band's sound and was a critical and commercial success, peaking at number 35 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[12] The singles "Is There a Ghost" and "No One's Gonna Love You" appear on the album.

Cease to Begin
Studio album by
Band of Horses
ReleasedOctober 9, 2007 (2007-10-09)
RecordedEcho Mountain Studios, Asheville, North Carolina
GenreIndie rock
Length34:45
LabelSub Pop
ProducerPhil Ek
Band of Horses chronology
Everything All the Time
(2006)		 Cease to Begin
(2007)		 Infinite Arms
(2010)
Singles from Cease to Begin
  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]
Pitchfork7.7/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin[10]
Uncut[11]

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[13] and was #47 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[14] It was also a minor hit in Scandinavia, charting in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.[15] 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."[16]

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.[17] The song became the band's first single to chart in the United States, peaking at #34 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[18] The album's second single "No One's Gonna Love You" was featured as a free iTunes download, distributed at Starbucks locations. While not being released as a single, "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" was featured in the tracklist of 2009 video game Guitar Hero 5.

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
  • Ben Bridwell - Lead vocals, guitar.
  • Rob Hampton - Guitar, bass guitar.
  • Creighton Barrett - Drums.
Additional musicians
  • Ryan Monroe - Keyboards.
Technical personnel
  • Phil Ek - producer, mixing
  • Jon Ashley - assistant engineer
  • Julian Dreyer - assistant engineer
  • Cameron Nicklaus - assistant engineer
  • Dusty Summers - design
  • Christopher Wilson - photography

Singles
  • "Is There a Ghost" (August 28, 2007)
  • "No One's Gonna Love You" (February 25, 2008)

Chart performance
Chart Peak
US Billboard 20035[13]
UK Albums Chart148[20]
Danish Albums Chart23[15]
French Albums Chart199[15]
Norwegian Albums Chart18[15]
Swedish Albums Chart57[15]

Reception

Cease to Begin received a 78/100 rating on Metacritic[21] and appeared on many "Best of 2007" lists:

Cover versions

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[24] Platinum 20,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[25] Gold 20,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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". AllMusic. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  3. Hyden, Steven (October 9, 2007). "Band Of Horses: Cease To Begin". The A.V. Club. 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. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  7. Deusner, Stephen M. (October 8, 2007). "Band of Horses: Cease to Begin". Pitchfork. 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: Cease to Begin". Spin. 23 (11): 114. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  11. "Band of Horses: Cease to Begin". Uncut (127): 84. December 2007.
  12. "Band of Horses". Spotify. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  13. Band of Horses > Chart History > Billboard Albums Allmusic
  14. Guide to the Misguided Stereogum - December 17, 2007
  15. Cease to Begin Ultratop entry - Ultratop
  16. The Return of Band of Horses - Cease to Begin eachnotesecure.com - July 20, 2007
  17. Rolling Stone lists rocklist.net
  18. Band Of Horses - Is There A Ghost Allmusic
  19. Tacopino, Joe "Southern Comfort: An Interview with Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell" PopMatters - November 8, 2007
  20. "1994–2010 > Darren B – David Byrne" Chart Log UK (Zobbel)
  21. Cease to Begin Metacritic entry Metacritic
  22. "2007's Top 50 Albums: #39 - Cease to Begin". Consequence of Sound. 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  23. Larry Fitzmaurice, "Cee-Lo Covers Band of Horses' No One's Gonna Love You" Pitchfork - July 1, 2010
  24. "Danish album certifications – Band of Horses – Cease to Begin". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 12 February 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2019 to obtain certification.
  25. "Norwegian album certifications – Band of Horses – Cease to Begin" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  26. "British album certifications – Band of Horses – Cease to Begin". British Phonographic Industry.
  27. "American album certifications – Band of Horses – Cease to Begin". Recording Industry Association of America.
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