Few bands today are able to touch the human spirit with their music. It takes a rare degree of vulnerability, a delicate emotional connection that transcends past the physical senses to make the listener feel something truly soulful, as though the artist has tapped into one's innermost sense of being. Band of Horses are one of these few bands, and their newest release, Cease to Begin, plays gently on the heartstrings for an experience that is uniquely lighthearted and moving.
Perhaps this spirited new tone is a result of their relocation - core band members Ben Bridwell, Rob Hampton and Creighton Barrett made the mutual decision to move from their home in Seattle to the small town of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. The move was made so that the band could be closer to their families, but naturally the change of environment took its toll on the band's sound as well - and the end result couldn't be more pleasing.
The album is lined with subtle southern influences (even their album art is a hidden tribute to the South Carolina state flag). These influences are especially apparent in Horses' new sound, which, though it keeps the dreamy, reverb guitar from their previous style, has a warmer tone and eliminates much of the eeriness found in their 2006 release Everything All the Time. However, though their newer sound is more accessible, the band is more profound than ever, both in lyrics and performance.
Bridwell proves his lyrical strength once again, varying between deep existential questions and hokey romantic ballads, and provides consistently heartfelt vocals in each song, his voice a booming echo that carries the album through till the very end. The band opens strong with Is There a Ghost,"" a slow-grower that builds as Bridwell repeats the song's only lyrics: ""I could sleep / when I lived alone / is there a ghost in my house?"" Rather than grinding against the ears, this repetition adds a deeper meaning by causing one to ponder the greater significance to Bridwell's question.
From here the band dives into the fantastic ""Ode to Lrc,"" a laid-back tribute to the simple pleasures of small town life (Lrc could possibly be the local ""Learning Resource Center""), where Bridwell contently declares ""the world is such a wonderful place"" before lapsing into a relaxed chorus of ""la-dee-das,"" still maintaining an emotional intensity beneath the airy lyrics.
Horses' first single, ""No One's Gonna Love You,"" is an angsty cry to a failing relationship set to a lulling background of ambient guitar and quietly crashing cymbals, a prime example of the band at the height of their cohesive musical ability.
However, the band completely flips direction with ""The General Specific,"" an immediately likable southern romantic ditty, complete with twangy vocals, bouncy acoustic guitar and cheerful piano - obviously influenced by their relocation to the South.
Bridwell tends to alternate between these two very different song styles for the rest of the album, wooing listeners with lyrics such as ""when you smile / the sun it peeks through the clouds"" in ""The Marry Song"" while simultaneously blowing them away with rich, beautifully layered instrumentation, such as in the stellar ""Island on the Coast.""
Cease to Begin effectively captures the romantic heart of the South, playing to the listener's unconscious feelings about home, family and relationships to create an album that is hands down one of the best releases this year.
