Cease To Begin [Band of Horses]

A few months ago, I was listening to someone compare "emo" music with "indie" music.  They said "Its almost the exact same thing sometimes... only indie rock is happy..."

Basic Info:

Album:  Cease To Begin

Artist:  Band of Horses

Release Date:  October 9, 2007

Release Number:  2nd Full Length Album

Track Number:  10 Tracks

Album Length:  34:48

Price (Amazon):  $15.98

Genre:  Indie Rock

Band Bio:

These guys are still fairly new to the scene (though when you get right down to it, isn't everyone?).  They formed in 2005 after Ben Bridwell (guitar/vocals) and Matt Brooke (guitar) recovered from the break up of their previous band, "Carissa's Wierd".  If you like "Band of Horses" you might want to look into some of "Carissa's Wierd"s old albums too because the content is fairly similar.  Main difference is the more expansive instrumentation in some of Carissa's tracks as well as the recording quality, which is much better in Horses (No one said indie bands needed to sound like they were recorded in a garage).

If you look online long enough, you'll find someone willing to compare this band to every other band you've ever heard of, but I can't quite figure out why this keeps happening.  I think people are confused by the sound Horses is creating in this album;  its pretty new, but at the same time, you can easily see it fitting in nicely with any music library (well... maybe not a hardcore gangsta rap collection, but aside from that).  This is actually a really nice effect overall though.  It gives you that nice familiar sound while stretching the limits just far enough in every direction to be something completely new.  And its because they're making this purely new music that they're still considered indie, even if they do have a record contract with "Sub-pop Records".

Album:

Let's get back to my opening statement.  Emo vs. Indie.  Interesting concept, no?  Well I'm not entirely sure whether I agree with the sentiment, but it's albums like this that give the idea some credibility.  Of course the difference that this music has against "emo" music is that... um.... its good... But we'll ignore that point in order to draw the comparison.

The reason the connection works is that if you simply listen to the chords, and the expressiveness in the voice, it sounds like the Bridwell's putting his heart on his sleeve.  And I suppose that's exactly what he's doing in most of these songs.  The difference between this music and "emo" though, is that the lyrics are hopeful, happy, joyous, and excited.  It's the expression of that horrible heart-wrenching pain of being in love, not the shallow temporary hurt of being dumped.

And if you need anymore proof, take the track "No One's Gonna Love You" for example.  It sure looks pretty "emo", until you hear that the rest of the line continues to become "No one's gonna love you more than I do".  Ok, it's a tad cliché, but its made up for by really good music.  Or how about the lyrics "The world is such a wonderful place" and then literal "La-dee-da"'s from the track "Ode To LRC"?  Its really an amazing work in that way; its got all the intense melodramatic emotion that can drive music (of any genre) but it's still ultimately a happy album!

Stylistically, the music is an intense blend of acoustic rock, country, and what can only be described as "alternative".  For the most part, the music is acoustic too (or amplified acoustic, but still not anything near a heavy-metal axe), which gives it a really nice mellow feel that won't ever make you cringe with an intentionally dissonant chord.  Band of Horses proves that simplicity is king and that you can still make great music, even if you stay far away from anything atonal (that's oldschool...).

And for anyone with a basic understanding of music theory, its also nice to listen to the unique melodic lines that Bridwell is singing in.  He's one of the few artists that enjoys singing leaping melodies instead of the same old step-wise lines we've all heard a thousand times before.  (in other words, his voice jumps around a lot instead of just going up a little... going down a little... going up a little... going down a little... etc.)

One minor complaint:  Although its beautifully done, there's not nearly enough upbeat songs to fill the album out completely.  "Islands on the Coast" is probably the most energetic song on the album, and even it only goes back and forth between upbeat and laid back.  The album is still fantastic for all its beautiful mellowness though.

One question for you guys now... Does anybody know if there is supposed to be Christ imagery on the cover of this album?  I'm seeing a cross made by the reflections, but I could easily be mistaken...

Ratings:

Music:  8.1

Lyrics:  8.4

Originality:  7.4

Bang for your Buck: 6.9

Indie-Cred (Obscurity):  6.8

Total Ranking:  7.52/10

Previews (30 seconds):

Is There a Ghost
Ode to LRC
No One's Gonna Love You
Islands on the Coast

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