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Current concise reviews of the albums by adult alternative, contemporary, and crossover artists. Images of album artwork and links to both internet-based resources are always included. Click on the title to view the article.

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The Cellophane Flowers - Staring At The World - CD Cover
Staring at the World
\r\nimage © The Cellophane Flowers 2012



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image © The Cellophane Flowers 2012
 

(02 December 2012) The Cellophane Flowers have become known for being masters of driving, quirky pop. Their songs reflect an eclectic array of influences from tribal drumming to West Coast alt-rock to the dark tinge of 80s pop. Though bustling with ideas, the band leaves the sublime vocals of their stunning lead singer Francesca Corradini with the room to bring their songs to life. Tthere are no superfluous special effects. There is a truly organic feel of the music, baring a resemblance to that of an earlier time, would be perfectly suited to vinyl, a fact that hasn’t escaped the band.

The band's latest offering is a ten track album entitled. Staring at the World (The Cellophane Flowers (UK), 2012) offers beautiful, delicate vocals infused with haunting melodies, encapsulated in splendour and driven by passion and bursting with modern day tales. If you’re searching for a delicious new album that’s reminiscent of PJ Harvey, The Smiths, The Magic Numbers and the National, then Staring at the World was made for you. The band's new album bears delicious and well ripened fruit from their recent work with producer Dave Allen (The Cure / Depeche Mode / Human League / The Charlatans) and builds on the critical success of last year's If I Was A Girl EP, that led to appearances on BBC Radio 1 and 6, local UK radio and numerous radio stations in the US.

Hailing from four different corners of the world, The Cellophane Flowers pull together a diverse range of backgrounds and influences to create their unique sound. Italian leading lady Francesca Corradini joined the band in the time-honoured fashion with an NME ad before heading to the pub. Drummer Nick Guy has one foot planted in Egypt and the other in Suffolk, growing up on The Cure and cutting his musical teeth in bands in Leeds and London.

Nick told us about the album, "Creating this album and working with Dave is the most inspiring thing we've ever done. We've properly mixed it up with our approach to each song. It's an album so we wanted to get the variety of what we do in there. But it's all held together with some dark lyrics, great hooks and catchy melodies."

Then there is guitarist Ian Sumner who grew up in Brazil, before graduating from samba to Kraftwerk and The Stone Roses. Australian-Italian-Maltese bassist Luca Napolitano can lend his hand to almost any instrument, to the extent that he actually bought a bass and played it for the first time on the day of his audition for the Flowers. Listen to the glisten of the electric guitars that characterize the otherwise minimialist (read as "non-glitzy") arrangements.

The band are indeed a force to be reckoned with, leaving unsuspecting audience members dazed and enthused through their whirlwind of sounds, instrument swapping and short but incredibly sweet live sets. The band's full length album Staring At The Word is a gem with timeless quality, stunning vocals and melodies that will ring through listeners heads all day long. Bravo!

 
 
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