PAPER MÂCHÉ DREAM BALLOON

The second of the band's two 2015 releases puts on display the acoustic version of the band! Live from the farm!

1. 'Sense' (3:30) I here a little PAUL WELLER in this song--the R&B sensibilities and 'sensible' chorus. A top three song for me. (8.75/10)

2. 'Bone' (2:16) HERMANS HERMITS?! Or KEVIN AYERS or something from the 1960s! Cool! (4.25/5)

3. 'Dirt' (2:50) more airy-fairy early Canterbury sounds and feel (though contemporary band from Devon, MAGIC BUS, was releasing their similarly sounding second album about this time). (4.25/5)

4. 'Paper Mâché Dream Balloon' (2:39) as above. (4/5)

5. 'Trapdoor' (2:38) aside from the gimmicky sounds, this bongo-laden song could've come from the bin of oddball songs released in the 1950s. (4.25/5)

6. 'Cold Cadaver' (2:43) Nothing very special here. (4/5)

7. 'The Bitter Boogie' (4:29) a standard blues boogie with acoustic guitars, harmonica, and reverbed vocals. (8.25/10)

8. 'N.G.R.I. (Bloodstain)' (2:25) Jerry Lee Lewis?! Doesn't work for me. (3/5)

9. 'Time = Fate' (2:26) another vocalist! Over more. By now I'm getting a little tired of the repetitious drum styles. (4/5)

10. 'Time = $$$' (2:04) almost Beatles sounding--mixing Paul's ukulele and Ringo's early drumming beneath John's under-confident singing. Not a great mix. (3.75/5)

11. 'Most of What I Like' (3:17) melodic, luring one in with its laid back feel and sweet vocals. (4.25/10)

12. 'Paper Mâché (2:29) an awesome little early Canterbury-like song'very much in symbiosis with Brit band MAGIC BUS. My favorite song on the album. (4.75/5)

Total Time 33:46

A lot of very brief ditties that are reminiscent of the song lengths and styles of the British pop scene in the 1960s. The drumming often makes me feel as if I'm listening to THE STYLE COUNCIL's Steve Smith, Stu's vocals could be T Rex's MARC BOLAN.

B-/3.5 stars; marked down for its lack of progginess but still an interesting journey back into the 1960s' acoustic psych scene. Try it for yourself!

After the mediocre "Oddments" and the great "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" from 2014, the band are back in 2015 with two more albums first with "Quarters!" then late in the year they released this record "Paper Mache Dream Balloon". Twelve songs over 34 minutes of light and poppy material that quickly won me over to my surprise. I just love the mood of this one and while it's far from Canterbury it has that same influence on me and I like that positive influence. Besides the usual instruments we get some flute, harmonica, violin, clarinet and sitar.

The sticker on the cd is a quote from The Guardian saying "psych-soul-surf-fuzz-garage-spacerock-jazz-diy-shamans". To me it's more simple than that but man that three song run right in the middle of the album of "Trapdoor", "Cold Cadaver" and "The Bitter Boogie" is fantastic and those are my top three. Interesting they start off with four tracks in the same mood and style and it really sets the tone for the album. I like this. Catchy and at times upbeat at times chilled as we get "Sense", "Bone", "Dirt" and the title track to end that run. Then my three favourites including the too catchy "Trapdoor" which could have fit nicely on "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" with the chorus repeating that word but always ending with the word "trap".

The record ends sort of hit and miss for me with those final five numbers but in my world this is a 4 star record and one that can change my mood bringing in some light which I like.

This is a near perfect album in my opinion, so very close. Continuing from the chill vibes from last album, Paper Mâché Dream Balloon is a very much indie/rock very slightly progressive feeling and contains, in my opinion, some of the strongest melodies that the band has ever produced. It takes on an entirely acoustic route that hasn't been seen before in their music, and is definitely heavily inspired by the Beatles melodically and harmonically. The mix is great, the songs don't feel out of place, it's a very strong entry in their discography. The themes of greed, and death are a very odd choice for what is otherwise a very calming album, the eerie lyrics contrasting the happy-go-lucky soundtrack around them.

Sense is a lot of fun, and one of their most popular songs to date. The acoustic bass undertones the other woodwind instruments playing over-top. As is with a lot of the album, its a simple, short, and effective regarding the themes and music. The piano and soft singing in this one is what gets to me, it's nearly impossible to not nod your head to this one.

Bone is really great, and is a little more varied than the first song on the track, with an entirely different ending, solo bits and more focus on flute. Also super catchy and noddable. The use of the arco on the bass is really great, and adds to the end with the pull-off.

Dirt is a perfect song in my opinion. It has one of the best melodies they've ever composed and has such a nice use of all the instruments, everything is in place on this one. The chord progression, the vocals, everything on this one makes it a 10/10. The harmonica as well is really great.

Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, the title track which has another really insanely strong melody and progression, it's just a fantastic song. It's a little more energetic going into the double time and has some of my favourite lyrics. The instrumental section is a highlight for me, as well as the sudden diminished ending.

Trapdoor is a pretty silly track, but this is where there's a change in style in terms of lyrics, going from silly to a little more sinister, and eerie. Goes into 2/4 on some of the 'trapdooooor, trapdooooor' parts, making it fun to count. The vocals are a lot more varied on this one and are probably the most fun on this album. The piano chords are probably my least favourite, and the song doesn't really go anywhere, doesn't have a different ending or anything. (the music video is great for this one though)

Cold Cadaver feels very similar to the other progressions in previous songs, but lyrically its different. It continues the ominous kind of trend, talking about a corpse with very happy music. The harmonica whenever it shows after the chorus is awesome, kind of bluesy, maybe foreshadowing the next song. A little touch of sitar that appears later as well. This one is just good for me.

Bitter Boogie goes so hard, and is also one of my favourites. Very catchy, very upbeat and has a bit of a shuffle-type triplet swing to it. The bass line is really effective. The tuning the guitar down during the breaks is great, and works with the bluesy vibe. Ambroses section is really great in this one, using the more gravely parts of his voice. The section at 2:20 with the dimished feel is sooo good. A really fantastic song.

N.G.R.I. (Bloodstain) is maybe the weakest for me on the album. A touch too repetitive, and feels s little lacklustre melodically considering the other competitors on this album. The sitar is a really nice addition, and maybe why it doesn't have much motion considering the drone. Similar to Trapdoor has some 2/4 bars thrown in. Stu's voice on this one is cool, a little deeper to change it up a bit.

Time = Fate is not bad, not one of Cookies best songs, but its solid. A tiny bit cheesy for my liking, but not bad. Has some really great chords on the chorus, and utilizes harmony for the flute which works really well. The instrumentals on this one are great.

Time = $$$ is another one of their best. Keeps a really great groove, really great chord progression and everything. The melody is really amazing on this one. The drums doing different fills at the same time is a great thing to listen to. This one has a little more focus on the guitar. It also keeps the critique of greed going, and has pretty fun lyrics to go along with that.

Most of What I Like is more mellow and fits well on the album. The vocals in the background doing harmony is something I noticed just on this listen, and it's really cool. Stu on the clarinet is great and he does this kind of strained vibrato by adding more air that sounds pretty fitting (this also happens on Sense). The harmony on the 'you always shut your eyes...' part is soooo good, and adds the more Beatles-y element to this one. Ending has a fun blues jam as well.

Paper Mâché is such an amazing wrap up to the album, using the flute to create a medley of all the themes played in a row. The transitions and the changes to each song are also really great, which is likely done to keep the same mood and tempo going through the song. I'm not really a fan of the rewinding that happens, but I can appreciate the experimental (possibly thematic?) ending to this piece. Explosion = Funny.

Issues: I think my only issues are really that some of the songs aren't as good as others which is not even that great of a critique haha, it really is just an amazing album.

Strengths: This one honestly is just so good, it's varied, it flows, great lyrics, mix, everything. It takes very simple forms and progressions and adds so much harmonically using the various acoustic instruments. The chill nature of this album is so great to listen to, and I can easily listen from back to front this entire thing.

I'm giving this one 5 stars because it's way closer to 5 than 4. It's not perfect, but it is really close. It's a masterclass in newer indie rock that takes inspiration from the old, and incorporates new things.