Cease to Begin

Following the release of their debut album, Everything All the Time, founding members Mat Brooke, Chris Early and Tim Meinig all left the band. Band leader Ben Bridwell recruited Joe Arnone (guitar and keyboards), Creighton Barrett (drums) and Rob Hampton (bass and guitar) as replacements, although Joe Arnone left the band prior to their 2007 tour. Robin Peringer (Modest Mouse - guitar), Matt Gentling (Archers of Loaf - bass) and Ryan Monroe (keyboards) joined the band for the tour, although only Monroe stayed for the recording of Cease to Begin. After the album's release he became a full band member. The album debuted at number 35 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart It was also a minor hit in Scandinavia, charting in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The first track, "Is There a Ghost", was made available for download on the band's MySpace page on August 28, 2007, and made number 93 on ''Rolling Stone's'' list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song became the band's first single to chart in the United States, peaking at No. 34 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album's second single "No One's Gonna Love You" was featured as a free iTunes download, distributed at Starbucks locations. While not being released as a single, "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" was featured in the tracklist of 2009 video game Guitar Hero 5. ==Track listing==

• Track 4 is named after the German basketball player Detlef Schrempf who played for Seattle SuperSonics in the 1990s, although no mention of him is made in the song's lyrics. ==Album credits==

;Band of Horses • Ben Bridwell – lead vocals, guitar • Rob Hampton – guitar, bass guitar • Creighton Barrett – drums ;Additional musicians • Ryan Monroe – keyboards ;Technical personnel • Phil Ek – producer, engineer, mixer • Jon Ashley – assistant engineer • Julian Dreyer – assistant engineer • Cameron Nicklaus – assistant engineer • Dusty Summers – design • Christopher Wilson – photography ==Singles==

• "Is There a Ghost" (August 28, 2007) • "No One's Gonna Love You" (February 25, 2008) ==Chart performance==

Cease to Begin received a 78/100 rating on Metacritic and appeared on many "Best of 2007" lists: • Austin Chronicle, Doug Freeman, No. 1 album of 2007 • Delusions of Adequacy, No. 9 album of 2007 • Filter Magazine, No. 2 album of 2007 • The A.V. Club, No. 5 album of 2007 • Paste Magazine, No. 9 album of 2007 • Consequence of Sound, No. 39 album of 2007 ==Cover versions==

• Cee-Lo Green has recorded a cover of "No One's Gonna Love You" for his 2010 album The Lady Killer. • Renee Fleming has recorded a cover of "No One's Gonna Love You" for her 2010 album Dark Hope. ==Certifications==