Is There a Ghost
Encyclopedia
"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 to date.
, "A simple finger-picked melody morphs into a strum-and-drum tour de force; there are layers of guitars, but not too much distortion.
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.
singled out "Is There a Ghost" as one of the main reasons that Band of Horses have received significant international attention, 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." 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."
Rolling Stone ranked "Is There a Ghost" at #93 in its 100 best songs of 2007.
Band of Horses
Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
' second album Cease to Begin
Cease to Begin
*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:* Phil Ek - producer* Jon Ashley - assistant engineer...
, 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 to date.
Background
The 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 ReflectorReflector (newspaper)
The Reflector is the student newspaper of Mississippi State University, founded in 1884.-References:...
, "A simple finger-picked melody morphs into a strum-and-drum tour de force; there are layers of guitars, but not too much distortion.
In general Cease to Begin has a more Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
, less indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
sound than Band of Horses' debut album Everything All the Time
Everything all the Time
-Personnel:*Ben Bridwell - Vocals, guitar*Mat Brooke - Guitar, co-lead vocals on tracks 8 & 10*Chris Early - Bass guitar*Tim Meinig / Sera Cahoone - Drums-Chart performance:-Songs from Everything All the Time in popular culture:...
. However, "Is There a Ghost" has a strong indie feel, in contrast to the rest of Cease to Begin.
Reception
Critical response to the single was generally very favourable. An article in The ScotsmanThe Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
singled out "Is There a Ghost" as one of the main reasons that Band of Horses have received significant international attention, 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." 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
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
's Smile."
Rolling Stone ranked "Is There a Ghost" at #93 in its 100 best songs of 2007.
Personnel
- Ben Bridwell - Lead vocals, guitar
- Rob Hampton - Guitar, bass guitar
- Creighton Barrett - Drums
- Ryan Monroe - Keyboards