Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)

This is my second post and first topic.  I’d like to start off by asking, is it conceivable a quality of having fun, collective creativity, youthful inspiration, nonconventional thinking, relatively foundational sonic elements, a broad range melodic and rhythmical sensibilities layered together musically with a purposeful attempt to create something unique and different be considered prog?

I’ve been listening to an album called “Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)” by a band called Cloud Cult.   I don’t really want to categorize or label this band, but when it comes to the music I like, it’s generally somewhere on the progressive side.  And I really like this album.  It’s by no means virtuoso prog, and if that’s what floats your boat then chances are this album will not amount to much.    It is however at least in my opinion something completely different.  By no means can I claim to know as much about music as some of the experts here, but I’ve been around the block a few times and I may or may not be right, but this album could just be greater than the sum of its parts and might actually be something new.

I know little about this band. I have picked up a little on them concerning this release being their first truly cohesive effort.  “…on this one they come together as a band...”  I can only assert the author meant this is the one you need to listen to!

In a nutshell the album takes the listener on a journey through loss and reclamation and plays like a spirit guide that jabs you in the ribs from time to time screaming, “Wake up, if you’re not living like you mean it then you’re missing the point of it all.  So don’t miss the point!”

I have heard some comparisons to the Flaming Lips, and I have to be honest, I am not a huge Flaming Lips fan.  And although I do hear some sonic similarities in the lead vocals, I am not so sure it goes much further than that.  That being said, I haven’t given the Flaming Lips a fair shake, so take this observation with a bolder of salt.

Right after I wrote the preceeding paragraph, I decided to go have a look at what someone else may have said about this album and found the following quote on one of the music retail sites under an editorial crediting the New York Times:

“The Minneapolis band's fifth full-length in six years. "...another intensely personal set of expansive songs that blend elements of orchestral pop, folk-rock, psychedelia, electronics, and more. At times, it recalls The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire, and even Modest Mouse" - KEXP. "Cloud Cult ooze whimsical indie rock like Modest Mouse on lithium" - Village Voice. "A sprawling kaleidoscopic invocation of the life force with songs that veer from jubilation to simmering prayerful meditation" - NY Times.”

That’s a lot more concise than all my rambling, but since I’ve come this far --- I might as well post.