"Is There a Ghost" is the first single taken from Band of Horses' second album Cease to Begin, which was released on August 28, 2007. It reached #34 on the US Alternative Songs chart and #30 in Denmark, making it the band's most successful song until "Casual Party" reached #27 on the Alternative Songs chart in 2016.
| "Is There a Ghost" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Band of Horses | ||||
| from the album Cease to Begin | ||||
| Released | August 28, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | Avast Studios | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ben Bridwell, Rob Hampton and Creighton Barrett | |||
| Producer(s) | Phil Ek | |||
| Band of Horses singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe lyrics consist of two lines which are repeated throughout the song: "I could sleep, I could sleep. When I lived alone, Is there a ghost in my house?" According to the student newspaper The Reflector, "A simple finger-picked melody morphs into a strum-and-drum tour de force; there are layers of guitars, but not too much distortion.[1]
In general Cease to Begin has a more Southern rock, less indie sound than Band of Horses' debut album Everything All the Time. However, "Is There a Ghost" has a strong indie feel, in contrast to the rest of Cease to Begin.[2][3]
Reception
editCritical response to the single was generally very favourable. An article in The Scotsman singled out "Is There a Ghost" as one of the main reasons that Band of Horses have received significant international attention,[4] however one reviewer disliked the "polished" sound of Cease to Begin, saying that, "In the switch from low to high fidelity, Band of Horses sacrifices a good deal of angst and quality."[5] Others were more enthusiastic, with one reviewer claiming that, "'Is There A Ghost' is the catchiest song with only 14 words to its credit since Pearl Jam's 'Smile'."[6]
Rolling Stone ranked "Is There a Ghost" at #93 in its 100 best songs of 2007.[7]
The music video for "Is There a Ghost," directed by Brian Savelson, won the 2008 MVPA Award in the Alternative category for Best Direction.[8]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[9] | 30 |
Personnel
edit- Ben Bridwell - Lead vocals, guitar
- Rob Hampton - Guitar, bass guitar
- Creighton Barrett - Drums
- Ryan Monroe - Keyboards
References
edit- ^ Gregory, Nathan "Horses buck sophomore slump"[permanent dead link] The Reflector - October 11, 2007
- ^ Shea, Erin "Cease to Begin is introspective followup for Band of Horses" Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine The Good 5 Cent Cigar - October 18, 2007
- ^ Grandy, Eric "Album Reviews" The Stranger - October 3, 2007
- ^ Pollock, David "Colts on the trail" The Scotsman - February 16, 2008
- ^ Herrmann, Zachary "Beginning of the end" Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine The Diamondback - October 8, 2007
- ^ Hagen, Kelly "My top 10 album picks for the year" Bismarck Tribune - December 27, 2007
- ^ Castina, "Rolling Stone Magazine The 100 Best Songs Of 2007" Archived 2010-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Pop Crunch - December 13, 2007
- ^ "NEWS: 2008 MVPA Winners". VideoStatic. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
- ^ "Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost". Tracklisten.