Caural’s debut, STARS ON MY CEILING, shows Chocolate Industries expanding their artist base in exciting ways. Caural’s work combines a gentle sense of melody with glitchy drum programming and a “let’s try anything” aesthetic. And it works: the opener, “All These Todays Just Melt Into Tomorrows,” has a cumulative warmth and vitality. The attention to transformation -- how one sound or theme leads into another -- lends itself more for a listening journey, rather than picking and choosing of favorite tracks. Even within themselves, the tracks morph. “Camphor” begins with a dreamy piano, but throws in some dense percussion and a funk bass; “Sipping Snake Blood Wine” starts out mysterious, but wobbles into unexpected places; the lovely guitar riff at the start of “Mint & A Hospital Watercolor” grows new textures. “Red Sunshine” is just pure happiness, while “Crush” sounds like a symphonic tour of the Garden of Eden, and “Untitled” is a long-lost 4AD track. A strange, seductive album. In other words: totally worth it.

Very diverse, yet tight album that works together (rare in my book). Great production and composition. One of my top three albums of the year, hands down. I can't say enough great things about this album.