Record Review: Band of Horses

Band of Horses sometimes gets caught up in themselves and the music can get boring pretty fast. Their debut had maybe two songs, including the jaunty “Weed Party,” that made a lasting impression against the rest of the songs on the album, and Cease to Begin suffers the same ailment of Boringitis. The affliction is the inflammation of the finger such that variation in the melodies causes great pain to the players. The guys have an awesome ability to make their guitars lush like a melodic rainfall, but all these songs are basically meditations on the same slow riffs. Songs like “Detlef Schrempf” and the first single, “Is There a Ghost,” and, well, every song on this record from start to finish are just tedious to listen to — and the childlike whine of bearded Ben Bridwell doesn’t do the music any favors either. I’m just a sucker for some sonic variation and maybe a smidgen of percussion. Can you throw me a handclap here or there? Can I get a chorus in between five verses? Sorry, I know that I shouldn’t berate the ailing.