CLOUD CONTROL – BLISS RELEASE

There is a lot to like about Cloud Control’s fifth album … then again there’s a few things not to. Things to like about  Bliss Release. The gently anthemic single Gold Canary that has been heralded in the press here and abroad. A concentration on songs and the craft of songwriting rather than worrying about genre (for the psychedelic leaning Cloud Control). Greater use of blended melody – Hollow Drums – and dynamics from anything they have previously done. A good diversity of great pop songs. On the other side, things to dislike about this album. Lines like “Mother Ganga take me higher / You wake up, you’re on fire”. Hippies running naked through the woods – Hollow Drums (it’s just how it makes you feel!). The highly derivative This Is What I Said (think The Vampires and inane Brit-pop). Beast of Love – more hippies, this time joined by druids! Lets face it, for these lads from the Mountains Blue, the good outweighs the bad, the pluses are greater than the minuses. But if you do have an aversion to naked hippies and druids you should approach this album with extreme caution.

*** 1/2