"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
"The Great Salt Lake" (2006) "Is There a Ghost" (2007) "No One's Gonna Love You" (2007)

"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.

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 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

Critical 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

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