It is very rare for a debut album to reach our Top 10 albums of the year, 2024's Hide did just that and could have been Number 1, but for the quality ly original. on display from that year. You can read my review here. I've been dying to tell you about the follow up for ages and now I can.
The Haunted Life Of Architecture is every bit as good if not better. Daniel Clifford is up there with the likes of Andy Partridge and Stephen Duffy and when Clifford brings the songs home to Sunderland and the other five band members, they become arrangements of the highest order.
Amateur Ornithologist summon up the soul of XTC and the beauty of The Lilac Time. Stunning Orchestral Pop with extraordinary gravitas. Soulful, blissful and incredibly arranged. Songs that are not afraid to take unusual directions when they are already gobsmacking.
It isn't just the arrangements, the vocal harmonies and rhythm section enhance the joy. This is one incredible listen. At its heart, it is Guitar Pop, but the six take it so far as to be incomparable to that, each song takes you in a different direction.
But, more often it is Pastoral Psych Pop, something that is hard to master, hence my comparison to Partridge and Duffy. Complex arrangements married to vocal harmonies and unique arrangements that are just jaw dropping.
I could have written reams and reams about these 10 songs, but similar to whenever I discover such a great album, I prefer to direct you to a full album listen. I've picked my three favourites that will probably be different tomorrow. Prepare yourself for an extraordinary listen.
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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