Cathedral Bells
Velvet Spirit: Album Review
scroll
Prepare yourselves for Velvet Spirit; the debut album from Cathedral Bells that is half an hour of true bliss.
This collage of work flows together so well you can't even tell when one song ends and another starts. Each and every song possesses a surreal and ambient nature that you just won't find in any other bedroom-dream-pop compilation of art.
​
And that's what Velvet Spirit is; pure art. After listening to the full album you will feel a sense of transcendence and take a deep breath out, ready to start your day. This is the perfect album to listen to on your morning commute to prepare you for a great day, and great to listen to on a long drive.
The record starts off with Ephemeral; a short yet gorgeous glimpse into the rest of the album. It's super groovy and possesses reverb and ambient effects of a dream-pop nature, much like the rest of the album. What follows is the latest release from Cathedral Bells prior to the album; In Absentia. Here, the synths take charge and you start to sing along to the reverbed-out yet still understandable lyrics.
​
As the record continues, you are transported on a journey of ghostly dream-pop synths and tracks, with songs like Reflection presenting an upbeat groove and interesting lyrical story and Disconnected serving the coolest drums on the album and possibly ever in the history of dream-pop.
​
Lucid is one of my favourite tracks; short in length yet powerful in it's nature, and Time Capsule makes me feel like I'm listening to the title track for Skins UK but in a more groovy way.
​
A Passing Phase gives us the lyrics, "Hidden in the clouds above, I don't wanna come down / Give me something to hold onto / Cause I've been searching far away", and I don’t feel the need to listen to any other lyric ever. The track also has the quirkiest yet coolest ending of any song on the whole album.
The album ends on a high with Ethereal Shadow which will have you dancing around in circles, glass of wine in hand perhaps.
​
What a surreal compilation of work by Matt and Aaron. Thank you guys for securing Cathedral Bells a spot in bedroom-dream-pop history. Now, come to Australia and play a show!
​