(5 / 5)
On “A Beautiful World To Lose”, Manchester four-piece Corella have taken the restless energy, swagger and melodic instinct that defined their earlier work and given it considerably more depth. The result is an album bigger, darker and more emotional, but crucially, never weighed down by its own seriousness.
Corella began when Joel Smith, Jack Taylor and James Fawcett met at university in Manchester, with Ben Henderson joining soon afterwards. What started as four university musicians sharing a love of indie and guitar music has developed into one of Manchester’s most exciting rising bands.
Their 2024 debut album, “Once Upon A Weekend”, was full of youthful energy, infectious melodies and the kind of indie-rock swagger that made it difficult to stand still. “A Beautiful World To Lose” keeps all of that, but something has changed.
Corella themselves describe the new album as fiercer than the last. They say they felt they were “testing the waters” before, whereas now they know they want to make a difference through their music. This time, Corella sound like they mean it. And fortunately, they haven’t forgotten the choruses.
Produced by Grammy-winning Jason Perry, whose production credits include The Molotovs, McFly and Don Broco, the album has a noticeably harder edge. Perry hasn’t smoothed away the personality of the band; instead, the guitars sound more ferocious, the rhythms more relentless and Joel Smith’s vocals carry considerably more grit.
Opening with “Rewire”, the band waste little time. It is urgent, confrontational and politically charged, making you want to jump around while contemplating the collapse of civilisation. “What’s The Use” keeps the momentum racing, capturing that peculiarly modern feeling of trying desperately to move forward while wondering whether any of it is actually getting you anywhere. It is frustration turned into propulsion.
Then comes “Lost A Friend”, one of the album’s emotional pivots. Corella allow grief, heartbreak and absence to occupy the foreground. It is an important moment because the band don’t attempt to disguise difficult emotions beneath machismo or volume. Instead, they let the song breathe. And then, almost mischievously, comes “Simple Life”. A huge, uplifting anthem and an obvious festival favourite in waiting.
If the rest of the album occasionally feels like an argument with the modern world, this is a reminder that life can also be rather wonderful when you stop overthinking it.
“Bitter End” brings back the sharper edge, while “All I Want” continues the album’s examination of desire, disappointment and the uncomfortable gap between the life we imagine and the one we actually get. “Jump Scare” injects another jolt of nervous energy, before “Wolf” introduces one of the album’s more colourful characters, swaggering on the surface but considerably serious underneath.
Beneath Corella’s confidence there is uncertainty. Beneath the guitars there is anxiety. Beneath the bravado there is vulnerability. “Thunder Strike”, co-written with Circa Waves’ Kieran Shudall, captures the exhilarating instability of life, ambition, chaos and anxiety that comes with trying to turn a dream into a career.
By the time “Note To Self” brings proceedings towards their conclusion, the album’s title has taken on a rather different meaning. “A Beautiful World To Lose” is not really an album about surrendering to a broken world. It is about recognising that things can be frightening, frustrating and painfully imperfect, and choosing to care anyway.
The political frustration, personal loss, anxiety and disillusionment give the album weight, while the band’s instinct for melody results in a record that can be angry while being joyful, vulnerable and sentimental, yet still not lose its sense of fun.
For a band who have already built an impressive live following, Corella aren’t prepared to sit comfortably on what they have already achieved.
Since their debut they have accumulated more than 70 million streams, received support from BBC Radio 1, Radio X and BBC Introducing, played major festivals including Reading & Leeds, Kendal Calling, Truck, Latitude and Neighbourhood, toured across the UK and Europe and supported the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Pale Waves, Circa Waves and The Wombats. That is quite a list.
But there is no sense of complacency here. Four Manchester musicians, ten songs, plenty of guitars and a rather large amount of existential irritation. Turns out the world may be beautiful after all, and Corella turn the amplifiers up while they figure it out. And if “A Beautiful World To Lose” is anything to go by, they are going to have a very large crowd helping them.
Upcoming Tour dates:
September 18, 2026: Manchester Academy 2 – Manchester, UK (Album Release Show)
September 19, 2026: Jacaranda Baltic – Liverpool, UK (Album Launch Show / Live Performance)
September 20, 2026: Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
September 21, 2026: Rough Trade Nottingham – Nottingham, UK (Live & Signing)
September 22, 2026: HMV Vault – Birmingham, UK
September 23, 2026: Circuit – Kingston upon Thames, UK
September 24, 2026: Rough Trade Bristol – Bristol, UK (Live & Signing)
By Manja Williams
(1 / 5) ‘Dull Zone’
(2 / 5) ‘OK Zone’
(3 / 5) ‘Decent Zone’
(4 / 5) ‘Super Zone’
(5 / 5) ‘Awesome Zone’
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