The Coral's latest album Butterfly House (2010) is already being celebrated in the media as one of the best albums of the year. As usual, I have been too busy with other things to properly listen to this album... However, I listened to it today and was really, really delighted at it.
The Coral, founded in 1996, has already created quite a back catalog. Butterfly House is the band's sixth album. I got acquainted with The Coral's music when the band's 2007 album Roots and Echoes, had just come out. I spent quite a lot of time listening to that album... Well, it is certainly one lovely album. Just thinking about songs like Jacqueline and Cobwebs makes me feel warm and happy.
About Butterfly House then... The album definitely is impressive! The members of the Coral are masters of their own melancholic, soft-psychedelic folky, jangly pop style. Musically the band hasn't changed its ways all that much from the previous album but the Coral concept has been taken a couple of steps further. James Skelly's songwriting pen has been sharp, again, and writing most of the songs together with another band member seems like a good choice.
When it comes to the song order, Butterfly House is built in an interesting way. The first four songs are more like the stuff on the previous album. Then begins an almost uninterrupted row of songs with superb, very Byrds-like harmony vocals. Like diving into another wonderful mood.. The music is so atmospheric that you can practically feel the leaves falling down from a tree. Wow... Now that I think about it, I see all kinds of pictures in my head while listening to this album. Music that stimulates your imagination like that can't be bad.
There are jangly sounds and excellent harmonies, sounding a lot like the Byrds.. The general feel also reminds me of Surf's Up by the Beach Boys. Another band that comes to mind is America. Anyway, some of the songs here practically sound like immediate classics! Just listen to songs like 1000 Years, Two Faces, and Green Is the Color.
Humane, warm, atmospheric, wonderful organic (and jangly!) sounds, made by people who obviously love what they are doing.. That is what I call Music.
Here is a music video for 1000 Years.
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