Do you think the memories disappeared forever, together with the rose-colored glasses of childhood? It’s time to dispel the illusion. The new album from James Beastly titled ‘We Should Be Animals’ has gathered piece by piece everything familiar to you, wrapping it in an amazingly elegant shell. Jim Paulos, known by the pseudonym James Beastly, worked on it for many years, collecting in 10 tracks stories about the fear of happiness in psychedelic tones and lost butterflies. The burning Los Angeles became his inspiration, a place the guy from San Francisco loved to visit, gathering a bouquet of memories. Moreover, I heard how beautifully the lines between indie, rock, punk and pop music were erased in the playing of saxophonist Patrick Bryers, violinist Magdalena Zaczek, and the other musicians. It is an excellent album, filled with cool sound and revealing the familiar sound of James Beastly in a new way. I want to share with you the tracks that touched me the most.

The album opens with the first track ‘Spring Violets’. Energetic, bright, and rich, it burst into the space with a roar of guitars to announce the blooming violets of spring. The whole track seemed to me filled with spring positivity breaking through the hard sound of the guitars. It’s real driving springtime energy, when a huge ball of flowers rises above the horizon, scattering violets across all cities, promising spring, the start of new events, vivid joyful changes with a light violin touch of country breaking through the armor of electric guitars.

The next track ‘Fear Of Joy’ breathed punk lyricism. Sweet violins framed the rough body of the guitar with flowers, creating a striking contrast between the free rebellion of black boots surrounded by the scents of blooming streets. Here you already want to arm yourself with the best supermarket deals, fill a whole basket with emotions, and rush after your dream, definitely reaching it no matter what happens. It’s the happiness of two natures at once: the lazy ones under a blanket turning on their favorite track, or the lovers rushing toward their sweetest dreams.

Having enjoyed the sweet rock mood, I turned on ‘We Should Be Animals’, the track that gave its name to the whole album. What awaited me here was a sea of lyricism, freedom, and an optimistic striving toward the lilac clouds of happiness, even if they seem like frozen castles on the horizon. The keyboards unfold beautifully here, making the air transparent and filled with a cloudless sky. I almost touched it with my hand, it felt so close to me. Incredible!

‘Slow Arrows’ continued the theme of a journey, carrying before my eyes millions of summer fields full of bright, motley flowers. The juicy voices of the soloists add to it masculinity, toughness, without drowning out the lyricism. It’s the case when you want to throw everything away, turn on the player, and ride across the world, enjoying orange juice. And I also liked the dreamy character of the track: all the instruments here open up in a springlike light, dreamy way, making you feel just a little sad while looking at the bright manes of the clouds.

‘White Dwarf’ introduced me to a new, cosmic-dance side of rock that I had known nothing about before. Pulsating synthesizers lit me up with an extraterrestrial glow, and the assertive nature of the track made me dance even in front of my laptop. It’s a high flight toward a dream, making you sweep away everything in your path. The speed increases, the fields rush by faster, the pulse in the headphones quickens, and you race toward your dream, amazed at the speed.

The final track ‘Oh! Mockingbird’ turned out to be a rich, lyrical rest set to deliberately slightly out-of-tune instruments. Don’t think the musicians didn’t prepare them on purpose: the floating effect masterfully conveys the friendly atmosphere of old memories, filled with elements of country and unique indie rock that you often recall while looking through old photo albums, letters, and films. A homely, warm atmosphere is guaranteed here – rock feels closer than I thought. A worthy, short, yet vivid ending, like the last frame of an old movie.

The album will remain in the history of music forever. It has already gathered the brightest memories for those who have listened to it so that everyone who hears it rejoices, smiles, becomes stronger, and finds new strength to live. I’ve listened to this album several times and highly recommend it to those who have lost hope, seeing no prospects in what is. Even if the future seems dark, in the present it’s enough to listen to at least a few tracks and immerse yourself in a new atmosphere. Perhaps it will bring happiness, not letting the things dear to your heart fade from memory, or hold onto a moment of warmth, freedom, roads and journeys for those who are happy right now, so listen, because surely there’s something important here for you.

Hi! Thank you for releasing such amazing music. Keep making more great releases filled with atmosphere, style, and unique energy. I was truly inspired. I’ll definitely show this album to everyone so they can listen to this awesome music too. I love it and want more!

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