Caural – Stars On My Ceiling

One of the best from this era IMO. Still holds up in 2020.

Caural’s debut, STARS ON MY CEILING, shows Chocolate Industries expanding their artist base in exciting ways. Caural’s work combines a gentle sense of melody with glitchy drum programming and a “let’s try anything” aesthetic. And it works: the opener, “All These Todays Just Melt Into Tomorrows,” has a cumulative warmth and vitality. The attention to transformation -- how one sound or theme leads into another -- lends itself more for a listening journey, rather than picking and choosing of favorite tracks. Even within themselves, the tracks morph. “Camphor” begins with a dreamy piano, but throws in some dense percussion and a funk bass; “Sipping Snake Blood Wine” starts out mysterious, but wobbles into unexpected places; the lovely guitar riff at the start of “Mint & A Hospital Watercolor” grows new textures. “Red Sunshine” is just pure happiness, while “Crush” sounds like a symphonic tour of the Garden of Eden, and “Untitled” is a long-lost 4AD track. A strange, seductive album. In other words: totally worth it.

Very diverse, yet tight album that works together (rare in my book). Great production and composition. One of my top three albums of the year, hands down. I can't say enough great things about this album.