Band of Horses
Cease to Begin
Sub Pop

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The last thing the world needed was a band with the balls to combine the ghostly Southern rock of My Morning Jacket with the bombast of U2. But that's just what Band of Horses has done with its second album, Cease to Begin. In some sense they've succeeded, too, but that's not necessarily a good thing. The two schools of music aren't really compatible, especially since Band of Horses tries so hard to sound larger than life that they practically dwarf themselves. There's something to the pretty bluster of songs such as "Ode to LRC" and "Marry Song" and the lovely coasting of "The General Specific," "Window Blues" and "Lamb on the Lam (In the City)." But ultimately, there's the feeling that the total package doesn't quite add up to anything that hasn't been done many times before in the last few years alone, by more adventurous bands.

-- Joshua Klein