As odd as it sounds, an independent record label out of Seattle changed my
musical tastes forever. The label was Sup Pop Records, started in 1979 by Bruce Pavitt. The label brought Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Mudhoney to the masses in the late
'80s, effectively forming the Grunge movement.

Even as the record label struggled to produce as many talented acts as it did in
the beginning, I stuck with it through the '90's, spinning the sounds of Sunny
Day Real Estate, Tad, and The Reverend Horton Heat on my brand new CD player.
But by the late '90s, the label was barely alive, producing lackluster bands
and dull albums destined for the discount bin.

All good things must come to an end, right? That's what I thought, until Sub Pop
re-emerged in recent years with a more eclectic lineup of great acts such as The
Shins, Iron & Amp; Wine and The Postal Service. And in 2006, Sub Pop introduced
the world to Band of Horses, a band hyped as one of the best indie bands of that
year.

With that in mind, there were high expectations for Band of Horses' sophomore
release Cease to Begin, and it doesn't disappoint. Mixing the best
aspects of ambience and twang, Cease to Begin reveals a musically mature
sound that feels as if New York's new-wave rockers Interpol met up with
Tennessee native Ryan Adams to swap guitar riffs in an old Virginia
farmhouse. Cease to Begin incorporates a larger collection of sounds, and
bounces from the reverberating guitar work of "Is There a Ghost" to the more
subdued, down-home-country feel of "Window Blues."

At first listen, the album feels choppy and unfocused, but after giving it a
chance, the music's regional textures just work.

It may disappoint the indie purists (whoever they are), since Band of Horses doesn't stick with the uniformity found on their debut Everything All the Time. Instead, the
band reveals a broader scope of the current state of American music, mixing the
(admittedly) overused anthemic sounds of bands like Love Drug with the more
grounded Alt-Country sounds of Wilco.

Cease to Begin starts out with its signature sound in the incredibly catchy "Is There a Ghost," a three-minute pop-epic that screams for the lights and action of a sold-out stadium concert. The band continues this style for three more tracks, laying the groundwork for lead singer Ben Bridwell's multi-layered vocal style.