Band of Horses

Thanks to bands with an affinity for the whiskey-soaked Southern rock of yore, the genre is rising again. But this isn't the bayou-loving sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Allman Brothers Band. Today's Southern rock is more sedate and less likely to become a protest anthem on a college campus.

Band of Horses' newest album, Cease to Begin, is a testament to the softer side of the swamp, with its bluesy ballads, lazy banjos and lyrics about swinging screen doors. The opener, "Is There a Ghost," has the same commercial potential as the radio-friendly track "The Funeral" off their 2006 debut, Everything All the Time. Starting off slow and spooky, "Ghost" crescendos into a guitar-shredding rock song that has more in common with today's indie scene than anything CCR ever wrote.

But the album's 21st-century aesthetic seems to drop off after the opening number. "Ode to LRC" is an unabashed love letter to Neil Young's "Southern Man." "No One's Gonna Love You" and "Detlef Schrempf" are reflective ballads that sound like a pensive Wayne Coyne—singer Ben Bridwell's vocals have a tendency to soar like those of The Flaming Lips frontman.

"The General Specific" translates gospel rhythms into a piano-powered number that could get the biggest sinner testifying, while "Marry Song" is a simple, soulful tune that might just be the album's most powerful song. Though Band of Horses do little to break dramatic new ground on Cease to Begin, they continue to do what they do best—turn out polished, guitar-driven rock with a subtle Southern tang. And that's not a half bad accomplishment for a sophomore album.

—Elisa Jacobs
10.09.07

When Band of Horses surfaced in 2006 with the cathartic Everything All the Time, the band's rugged take on rock & roll drew quick parallels to My Morning Jacket and early Neil Young. That's mighty nice company for a young band, but co-founder Mat Brooke nevertheless left the lineup that same summer, choosing to blaze his own trail with Grand Archives instead. Ben Bridwell, Brooke's musical cohort for nearly a decade, was left in control of Horses -- a daunting position for the former Carissa's Weird bassist, but one that ultimately resulted in a sophisticated, mature, and altogether superior follow-up. Cease to Begin is the responsible adult to Time's reckless teenager, with Bridwell pitting his high, clear tenor against backdrops of swirling indie rock and campfire singalongs. While tracks like "Weed Party" showed the band having harmless (albeit vaguely adolescent) fun on their debut, the good times on Cease to Begin are more grown-up: a lo-fi, foot-stomping pop ditty ("The General Specific"), a brief interlude of instrumental watercolors ("Lamb on the Lam [In the City]"), a foray into twangy country ("Marry Song"). Those looking for more anthemic rock will gravitate toward kickoff track "Is There a Ghost," where the guitars are loud and Bridwell's vocals are candy-coated in thick reverb, but Cease to Begin shines it brightest under the twilight glow of "Detlef Schrempf." Historically, Schrempf was a German-born NBA basketball player with killer three-point accuracy -- and while that's certainly an odd choice for a song title, it's easy to forget as drums beat an appealingly lazy rhythm beneath Bridwell's falsetto. Who knows whether he's singing to a hometown, a loved one, or his favorite member of the Seattle SuperSonics? It's still a thrilling listen, and the subtle humor hints that Band of Horses isn't growing up too quickly. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide