| How Beautiful Life Can Be | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 September 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2019-2021 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 39:00 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | James Skelly | |||
| The Lathums chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from How Beautiful Life Can Be | ||||
| ||||
How Beautiful Life Can Be is the debut studio album by the English indie rock band the Lathums, released on 24 September 2021 by record label Island Records. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on 1 October 2021.
The title of the album came from the fourth track on the album, which was inspired by Moore's mother, Anne. According to Moore, he told her to 'stop talking' and to 'hold onto those thoughts for one second'. He went to grab his guitar and began writing the song, which would later be fitted onto the track listing on the album.
The band's producer, the Coral's James Skelly, helped create the album, which featured some of the band's singles from 2019 and 2021. He also helped produce new songs that would appear on their debut album. Alex Moore mentioned in an interview on Radio X that during the lockdown, where they were able to socially distance from one another, they started playing the song "Circles of Faith", which they decided would be the opening track for their debut album. It was the first song recorded for How Beautiful Life Can Be. [1] The track listing consists of some previously released songs and brand new songs recorded for the album. One track that was omitted from the list was All My Life, which Skelly had recorded, prior to the album's release.
The album was released on 24 September 2021 by the label Island Records.
Three days after the release date, an extended edition was released exclusively to Apple Music, with previously released songs.[ citation needed ] A month later, the band released a deluxe version of the album, with each track getting an acoustic rendition, while the title track had an acapella version.[ citation needed ]
How Beautiful Life Can Be peaked at number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. [2] The album has been certified Silver in the UK on 22 March 2024, three years after the album's initial release date.[ citation needed ]
How Beautiful Life Can Be received generally positive reviews from British Media Outlets. NME was quite enthralled with this album, giving it four out of five stars, with Damien Jones stating, "It's been quite a year for them during the pandemic". [3] Jones also stated that it was 'a shame the band omitted rousing early anthem and live centrepiece ‘All My Life’ from the record due to “there literally being no room for it”.' He stated that it was easily one of their strongest tracks, but the fact they can leave it out and still succeed is testament to an album that brims with hope and heartbreak.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [5] |
| NME | [3] |
| Louder Than War | 3.5/5 |
| The Telegraph |  [6] |
The Guardian gave the three out of five stars stating that "Its retro sensibility and guileless tone means How Beautiful Life Can Be is the guitar music equivalent of comfort food: undemanding, slightly stupefying, but immensely cheering all the same". [5] On Metacritic, it received an average score of 72, with four positive reviews and two mixed reviews. [4]
The Telegraph gave the album "three and a half out of five", stating that the band 'truly aspire to be the indie voice of a new generation, they are going to have to sharpen their quills or invest in a rhyming dictionary'. Louder Than War also had similar views as the Telegraph, with their outlet saying, "The Lathums are going from strength to strength now that they can get out there and play live again. Their debut album is a strong statement of the potential that they have to grow, the avenues they have to explore. For now, though, they’re just happy to finally be given the opportunity to fly once again." [6]
All tracks are written by Moore, Concepcion, Cunliffe and Durrans
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Circles of Faith" | 3:30 |
| 2. | "I'll Get By" | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Fight On" | 2:49 |
| 4. | "How Beautiful Life Can Be" | 2:47 |
| 5. | "The Great Escape" | 3:49 |
| 6. | "I Won't Lie" | 2:51 |
| 7. | "I See Your Ghost" | 2:33 |
| 8. | "Oh My Love" | 2:23 |
| 9. | "I'll Never Forget the Time I Spent with You" | 3:14 |
| 10. | "I Know That Much" | 3:22 |
| 11. | "Artificial Screens" | 5:15 |
| 12. | "The Redemption of Sonic Beauty" | 3:57 |
| Total length: | 39:01 | |
Notes
The Lathums
Production
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums (IRMA) [7] | 71 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [8] | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [9] | 1 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [10] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album The Coral, from which came the single "Dreaming of You", was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and listed as the fourth best album of the year by NME. Their second album, Magic and Medicine (2003), produced four UK Top 20 singles, including "Pass It On". In 2008, after guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band, they continued as a five-piece.
The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne, and saxophonist Abi Harding.
The Coral is the debut studio album by British rock band the Coral. It was released on 29 July 2002, through the Deltasonic record label. After finalising their line-up, the band had a residency at The Cavern Club, and were spotted and signed by Alan Willis of Deltasonic soon afterwards. Following the release of a single and an EP, and two UK tours, the band began recording their debut album. Sessions were held at Linford Manor Studios, Milton Keynes in early 2002, and were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and the Coral. Described as a neo-psychedelia and folk rock album, frontman James Skelly's voice was compared to Eric Burdon of the Animals and Jim Morrison of the Doors.
Magic and Medicine is the second studio album by English rock band the Coral. It was released on 28 July 2003, through Deltasonic. Within three months of releasing their self-titled debut studio album, the band began recording material for their next album in October 2002. Sessions were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie, with co-production from the Coral; recording continued in-between tours of the United States and Europe, finishing in April 2003. Described as a pop rock and psychedelic pop release, Magic and Medicine was compared to the work of the Animals, with frontman James Skelly's vocals recalling that band's frontman Eric Burdon.
The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003, consisting of Matthew Murphy, Tord Øverland Knudsen, and Dan Haggis. They have artist services deals with AWAL and Warner Music Australia. They have sold over 1 million albums worldwide. They created several EPs before releasing their first full album, Girls, Boys and Marsupials (2006), which was released only in Japan.
"Makes No Sense at All" is a song by Hüsker Dü from the album Flip Your Wig. Written by Bob Mould, the song was one that Mould felt aged well. The song was released as the debut single from the album, reaching number 2 on the UK indie charts.
The Dunwells are an English rock band, formed in Leeds in 2009. The group consists of brothers Joseph Dunwell (vocals) and David Dunwell, along with friends Adam Taylor and Rob Clayton.
Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012.
Life Is Beautiful is the fourth studio album and fifth album overall from the contemporary Christian music band The Afters. The album was produced by David Garcia, Ben Glover, Jordan Mohilowski, and Dan Muckala. It was released on April 16, 2013 by Fair Trade Services. The album has been received critical and commercial success since it has been released.
Love Undercover is the debut studio album by English rock group James Skelly & The Intenders. It was released on 3 June 2013, on Skeleton Key Records and Cooking Vinyl and reached No. 85 on the UK Albums Chart.
London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. Their debut extended play, Metal & Dust, was released in February 2013 by Metal & Dust Recordings, while their debut album, If You Wait, was released a few months later in September. The album reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Double Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The band's second studio album, Truth Is a Beautiful Thing, was released in June 2017, reaching No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. The latest album, Californian Soil, was released on 16 April 2021 and became their second-consecutive No. 1 album in the United Kingdom.
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die is an American emo/indie rock band formed in Willimantic, Connecticut, in 2009. Following the release of several EPs and splits featuring original lead singer Thomas Diaz, they released their debut LP Whenever, If Ever in 2013 to generally positive reviews. Undergoing a series of roster changes, they proceeded to release a 2014 collaboration with spoken word artist Christopher Zizzamia titled Between Bodies, as well as several full-length records, including Harmlessness in 2015, Always Foreign in 2017, and 2021's Illusory Walls.
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is the third studio album by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 29 May 2015 by Island Records. After her year-long break from music, the lead vocalist, Florence Welch, returned to configure the album, recording material that dealt with personal conflicts and struggles. In comparison to the band's two previous studio albums, it is much more refined and stripped-down instrumentally, and incorporates a mixture of musical influences such as folk, blues and gospel.
Distance Inbetween is the eighth studio album by the English indie rock band The Coral. It's their first album after a five-year hiatus, their first without guitarist Lee Southall and also the first with Southall's replacement, Paul Molloy. The album was released on 4 March 2016. The first single, "Chasing the Tail of a Dream", was released on 26 December 2015.
Blossoms are an English indie rock band from Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 2013, the band consists of Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan (drums) and Myles Kellock.
Blossoms is the debut studio album by English rock band Blossoms. It was released in the United Kingdom on 5 August 2016, by Virgin EMI Records. The album was produced by James Skelly and Rich Turvey. It peaked at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and number 12 on the Irish Albums Chart, reaching Silver certification in the UK in April 2017. Then in June 2017 it went Gold in the UK after surpassing 100,000 sales.
Move Through the Dawn is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Coral. It was released on 10 August 2018, under Ignition Records.
Coral Island is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Coral. Run On Records and Modern Sky UK released it on 30 April 2021. During the cycle for their ninth studio album Move Through the Dawn (2018), the band began stockpiling song ideas; on the way home from Blackpool, the band had the idea of making a concept album about a fictional town. With the assistance of Edwin Burdis, the band began mapping out the album. The recording sessions were held at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool, with the narration recorded at Ian Murrary's house in Merseyside; the band and Chris Taylor acted as producers. Described as a psychedelic album, it drew comparison to the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society (1968), while the narration was reminiscent of that heard on the Small Faces' Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (1968).
The Lathums are an English indie rock band from Wigan, Greater Manchester. They are formed of singer/songwriter and guitarist Alex Moore, lead guitarist Scott Concepcion, bassist Matty Murphy and drummer Ryan Durrans, and are managed by Alfie Skelly. They were created by The Music Project, a stage school specialising in music, art, games and media, in April 2018 after their tutor placed them in the same project group, and within a year they signed with Island Records. They released their debut album, How Beautiful Life Can Be, on 24 September 2021. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on 1 October 2021.
From Nothing to a Little Bit More is the second studio album by English indie rock band the Lathums. It was released on 3 March 2023 through Island. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.