"Is There a Ghost" is the first single taken from

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has been the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line ...

' second album ''

Cease to Begin ''Cease to Begin'' is the second album by Band of Horses, released on October 9, 2007. This album solidified the band's sound and was a critical and commercial success, peaking at number 35 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The singles "Is There a ...

'', released on August 28, 2007. It reached #34 on the US

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart and #30 in Denmark, making it the band's most successful song until "Casual Party" reached #27 on the

chart in 2016.

Background

The lyrics consist of two lines 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. In general ''Cease to Begin'' has a more

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

, less

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

sound than Band of Horses' debut album ''

Everything All the Time ''Everything All the Time'' is the debut album of indie rock band Band of Horses and was released on March 21, 2006, on Sub Pop Records. It features new versions of five of the six songs from the band's ''Tour EP (Band of Horses), Tour EP'', some ...

''. 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 Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' 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, "'Is There A Ghost' is the catchiest song with only 14 words to its credit since

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

's '

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

'." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked "Is There a Ghost" at #93 in its 100 best songs of 2007. The music video for "Is There a Ghost," directed by

Brian Savelson Brian Savelson is an American writer, director, and producer who works in film, theater, and television. Savelson has written for numerous TV series including Amazon's The New Yorker Presents, Fox's Next, and Apple's Little America for which he ...

, won the 2008 MVPA Award in the Alternative category for Best Direction.

Chart performance

Personnel

*Ben Bridwell - Lead vocals, guitar *Rob Hampton - Guitar, bass guitar *Creighton Barrett - Drums *Ryan Monroe - Keyboards

References

External links

Music Video for Is There a Ghost on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Is There a Ghost Songs about ghosts 2007 singles Band of Horses songs Sub Pop singles 2007 songs Songs written by Ben Bridwell