CORELLA AT THEIR CORE IN RUPTURING NEW ALBUM ‘A BEAUTIFUL WORLD TO LOSE’
Corella (credit: Charles Agall)
ALBUM REVIEW | CORELLA – A BEAUTIFUL WORLD TO LOSE by Jasmin Savage
After a spirited debut album back in 2024, Corella snap back with unflinching determination to bring us A Beautiful World To Lose. The explosive sophomore album hauls a potent ferocity as the Manchester four-piece grit through themes of heartbreak, loss, cynicism – yet it’s still unmistakably Corella.
A Beautiful World To Lose is a collection of tales exploring the human condition. The band dares to criticise and challenge not only the systems in which the world works, but also to reflect on their personal hardships, digging through the layers to expose them at their very core. Frontman Joel Smith notes:
“A lot has happened since we released our first album. We’re writing more for ourselves this time, but we also hope there’s plenty that listeners will be able to relate to. These lyrics have more grit to them, more heart, and we knew we had to be willing to make ourselves more vulnerable.”
Opening track ‘Rewire’ immediately exhibits this shift into a darker edge from the previously joyous band. Pounding drums and coarse guitars strike without warning, layered with a fuzzy bass line and growling vocals that intensify as the song progresses. The frustration is almost contagious as the song urges you to challenge the social conditioning so prevalent in the world.
‘What’s The Use’ continues with a sense of existential discontent as Joel battles with a loss of ambition, while ‘Bitter End’ transforms this into an obsessive determination to achieve “like The American Dream”.
The album predominantly leans into punk-inspired rock, but sandwiched between this lays even heavier hitting lyrics. Producer of the album and Grammy winner Jason Perry encouraged the band to strip everything back and let the songs speak for themselves. “There’s so much AI-generated music about, we wanted to highlight the authenticity of our own sound,” drummer James Fawcett states. “Jason gave us the confidence to keep certain things in, because that’s where the magic happens.”
‘Lost A Friend’ sees the band at their most vulnerable. After losing two friends to suicide in 2025, James states “There’s an overarching message of losing someone very close to you, or played a big part in your life.” The song is raw and filled with grief, but there’s also this hopefulness sprinkled throughout. It acknowledges the pain, but also points out those little moments of joy that act as a motivator to keep going. Bassist Ben Henderson says:
“We’ve all gone through loss. I think that’s important to show as well that men can deal with those heavy emotions, whether that’s by talking to one another or finding solace through a song.”
Uplifting messages in subsequent song ‘Simple Life’ focus on those little moments that are necessary to maintain an optimistic mindset in a world full of suffering, repeating “This is the simple life we need now to be happy.”
‘All I Want’ battles with the emotional complexities following a breakup, shifting between lyrics of longing and acceptance. The song is almost like a letter of all the things he wishes he could say, which perfectly captures that feeling of struggling to let go but also wanting what’s best for them even if that can’t be with you, only reinforcing the band’s intent of vulnerability and authenticity through the music.
The appropriately titled ‘Jump Scare’ cuts right back to that untamed energy, unleashing an animalistic anger that brilliantly flows into ‘Wolf’. The song has Joel playing an overly confident character to mask his insecurity quite literally like ‘a sheep in wolf’s clothing’.
Written with Kieran Shudall of Circa Waves, penultimate track ‘Thunder Strike’ grumbles in with a forbidding tone. The song captures the intense feelings that come with chasing a high but always wanting more. “It leans more into the fight of being in a band, when you’re constantly following this beam of light but find yourself wondering, now I’ve reached one goal, what’s the next one?” says Joel.
‘Note to Self’ concludes the album as a reminder to persist through the hard times and reject those feelings of negativity by building a safe space for others to open up about their struggles. There’s power and liberation in a community that helps you persist through the difficulties of the modern world. Joel says:
“It’s easy to feel like the odds are stacked against you, like the fight is never over, but we really believe that hard work pays off, provided you’ve got each other’s backs. We definitely tapped into that on A Beautiful World To Lose, the fight is there. You’ve got to keep going.”
This album is an amazing example of why artists should challenge themselves to experiment with influences rather than sticking to what they know just because it was successful. By pushing boundaries and allowing themselves to be completely vulnerable, Corella have carefully crafted a body of work to match the shift in maturity the band has experienced since their first album.
A Beautiful World To Lose – the new album by Corella: OUT NOW via FLG!
ORDER HERE
