a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun

The varied use of instrumental ideas and textures, along with different vocal styles, seems to bode well for this record, as it suits its narrative. There may be more that could have been done in total. Keeping an album centered on a specific sound is obviously a challenging task, given that one must maintain the album's focus on its theme while also introducing new ideas to prevent it from becoming dull. Short albums often result from this, as artists struggle to create an ever-evolving sound that doesn't stray too far from the beaten path. At 47 minutes, this is by no means a short album and often delivers on that evolution. As a whole, however, some of the core elements remain too similar. As I alluded to in the opening paragraph, this album achieves a specific vibe and usually succeeds. The soft, sunbathed sound they go for here often leaves me unengaged with the lyrics, as they don't seem to have much weight on the enjoyment of the sound. I think that for specific genres, it can be both a blessing and a curse, as lyrics can make or break your work, such as in rap. This brand of pop is the opposite. The lyrics can be good or bad, but they won't significantly affect my opinion. Not unless the lyrics are just downright horrendous, which they aren't here. The topics generally stick to relationship-related things, but do step out of the box on "Personal Cathedrals," where they sing about the materialistic and selfish lifestyle people live. A topic that isn't usually explored in pop music like this, and I think it works well, being the best-written song on here. It's challenging to categorize this genre as a whole, as it does have some range in its instrumentals; however, I prefer to describe this type of music as Sunflower Pop. A warm feeling and glow, which is entirely fitting considering the name of the album. "Pretty Places" is a prime example of this, as it evokes the same great feeling as other songs I would classify as similar, such as "Waterfalls" by TLC or "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. There are others, but the point is clear. The closer, "Hold Out," also does a standout job of this, but is much softer, with almost a sadder feel to it. The musical equivalent of a supportive hug. A few songs on here miss at points, with the major one being "Paradise". The pre-chorus absolutely smashes it, being catchy and featuring a great build. The backing features wavy synths, but when it reaches a climax, the synth abruptly fades away, and they simply repeat the phrase "Paradise" over and over again. Disappointing to say the least. A constant use of general guitar and oo-ing and ah-ing throughout here also causes several songs to blend. There is a bass on here that I would typically like, but given the vibe of the album as a whole, it feels out of place. It's most prevalent on "Lucky to Get Him" about halfway through the song, where there is a much more gritty dance part. If this style were embraced elsewhere throughout the album, I think it would work better. However, on this song in particular, it feels a bit out of place, even though it doesn't necessarily sound bad by any means.