Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
A little like Beirut, Band of Horses have released a superb ‘as you were’ follow-up to a hugely successful debut album. Not much has changed here at all, in the sonic sense, although the songs are quieter for the most part and the overall atmosphere is a little more sombre than their previous effort.
I can’t tell you much about them that you don’t know already. Their grand, sweeping brand of epic Southern rock ‘n’ roll is much the same as before, almost like a cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Lift to Experience, in a slightly odd way. The quieter tracks have an almost gospel air to them, and the guitars, when they really hit them, chime like church bells.
Their slightly apocalyptic brand of indie rock gets downright dreamy and wistful on occasion, which is a nice counterpoint to tracks like Is There a Ghost. Funnily enough they start with that song, which seems like an offering to their fans to ease them into the new, more contemplative Band of Horses. It’s right off Everything All the Time, that one, but things change pretty quickly with Ode to LRC which is lovely, but never quite kicks off, despite threatening to do so on numerous occasions. By the time you get to the lovely No-one’s Gonna Love You you know well and truly that you are dealing with a rather different animal. Excellent stuff.
Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost
Band of Horses – No-one’s Gonna Love You
Dear God… “Is There A Ghost” is amazing. I had heard their first record and was left a little underwhelmed but this new one is so much deeper and full of wonderful subtle musicianship. I’m sure this will be something I listen to a lot. THANKS A TON!!!
Yes, I’m really enjoying this actually. Not too different, but enough of a shift to make it interesting.