Cease to Begin

Cease to Begin
Studio album by Band of Horses
Released	October 9, 2007
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) Cease to Begin (2007) Infinite Arms (2010)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blogcritics	8/10[2]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[3]
The Guardian	[4]
NME	8/10[5]
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10[6]
Robert Christgau	[7]
Relevant Magazine	4.5/5[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Sputnikmusic	[10]
Twisted Ear	[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 & keyboards), Creighton Barrett (drums) and Rob Hampton (bass & 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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Is There a Ghost"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	2:59
2.	"Ode to LRC"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	4:16
3.	"No One's Gonna Love You"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	3:37
4.	"Detlef Schrempf"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	4:28
5.	"The General Specific"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett, Monroe	3:07
6.	"Lamb on the Lam (In the City)"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	0:50
7.	"Islands on the Coast"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	3:34
8.	"Marry Song"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	3:23
9.	"Cigarettes, Wedding Bands"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	4:35
10.	"Window Blues"	Bridwell, Hampton, Barrett	4:01

Japan-only Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Writer(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

• Track 4 is named after the German basketball player Detlef Schrempf who played for Seattle SuperSonics in the 1990s, although no mention of him is made in the song's lyrics.^[18]

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 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:

• Austin Chronicle, Doug Freeman, #1 album of 2007
• Delusions of Adequacy, #9 album of 2007
• Filter Magazine, #2 album of 2007
• The Onion AV Club, #5 album of 2007
• Paste Magazine, #9 album of 2007

Cover versions

• Cee-Lo Green has recorded a cover of "No One's Gonna Love You" for his 2010 album The Lady Killer.^[21]
• Renee Fleming has recorded a cover of "No One's Gonna Love You" for her 2010 album Dark Hope.

References

1. Leahey, Andrww. Cease to Begin at AllMusic
2. Blogcritics review
3. Drowned in Sound review
4. The Guardian review
5. NME (10/20/2007, p.39)
6. Pitchfork Media review
7. Robert Christgau review
8. Relevant Magazine review
9. Rolling Stone review
10. Sputnik music review
11. Twisted Ear review
12. Band of Horses > Chart History > Billboard Albums Allmusic
13. Guide to the Misguided Stereogum - December 17, 2007
14. 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