Cloud Cult  - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) (Earthology Records)

Album Walk-Through:
“No One Said It Would Be Easy”, the opening track kind of reminds me of the “Friends’” theme song because it shares the same message (no one said there would be days like these). That’s not a bad thing. It’s just true.

They continue with another trite message with the metaphoric song “Everybody Here Is A Cloud”, meaning, we all eventually go away.

The album picks up with “The Tornado Lessons”. It opens with a roaring organ.

In “It’s What You Need” is a rallying anthem that immediately makes me think of the Go! Team.  Because it’s infectious short punchiness, I had that on repeat for at least a dozen times.

“Story of the Grandson Of Jesus” resembles the newly established Mae Shi by being pop, loud, understandable and revolving around religion. This song does a few different things; the main thing is it proves someone in the band has to be Catholic. The line “he served us communion of cola and twinkies. I guess everyone has their own view” is a little too detailed and hilarious for a non-Catholic to write. It also rocks.

Overall:
The album overall was enjoyable, very enjoyable, actually. A few tracks are comparable to Modest Mouse, but still have a unique enough sound to survive in comparison. It has a running theme of natural disasters and exploration. They also show their cultural relevance and “hipness” by referring to eBay (in “Journey of the Featherless”). Feel Good Ghosts will most likely make it into my top albums of ’08. And to be honest, I was going to write them off due to their Panic at the Disco circus looking cover, but I see why they did it. Feel Good Ghosts and Cloud Cult just points out we just have to laugh at life sometimes when everything turns to shit.

Track Listing:
1.    No One Said It Would Be Easy
2.    Everybody here is a Cloud
3.    The Tornado Lessons
4.    When Water Comes To Life
5.    Must Explore
6.    Journey of the Featherless
7.    The Ghost inside Our House
8.    It’s What You Need
9.    Story of the Grandson fo Jesus
10.    Hurricane and Fire Survival Guide
11.    May Your Hearts Stay Strong
12.    The Will of a Volcano
13.    Love You All