The Underground of Happiness

******************************************************************************************************** Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker – Spider Beetlebee (Drag City) Beautiful album of bright and bracing guitar instrumentals from this Chicago duo collaboration. The range of styles spanned over the course of just half an hour is a clue to the open mindedness and sense of adventure of both musicians. There’s a real sense of the shared joy in playing about the whole piece. A gorgeous miniature body of work and in many ways perfect music for this time of year. SpiderBeetleBee by Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker Laura Cannell – Lines of copper gold (Brawl Records) Bracing is also a word to describe this blast of overbowed fiddle from Laura Cannell of East Anglia recorded in a semi ruined church from her current album Hunter Huntress Hawker . Call it early music. Improvised. Experimental. It is primal and it is stirring. It feels essential. HUNTER HUN...

The latest album by Chloe March is another heady trip through electro pop but really that tag doesn't do justice to the range of expression. The air is thick with atmosphere throughout and March is a masterful creator of mood. This is just one of the stunning rarefied synth compositions topped with layers of her remarkable voice. I particularly love the dappled pulse of electric piano when the pace picks up for the chorus. It is also a beautiful sound somewhere between The Blue Nile and David Sylvian and as that would suggest soulful. Wonderbar. Blood-Red Spark by Chloë March

From his 8th album another haunting number to add to his collection delivered in Crowley’s signature velvet voice which can make men as well as women weak at the knees. One particularly special moment here where the narrator sings of the funeral following his faked death. I heard the ceremony was poorly attended At least did they play my favourite song Born Free At which point a vocal chorus lifts proceedings out of the here and now into some higher space. It is the definition of transcendance. The fact that it achieves this with reference to a classic pop croon only makes it more profound. Track 8 in this playlist

A frankly startling album made up of what you might call a jazz trio. (A different brand of jazz trio to your garden variety.) There’s Penny Rimbaud the co-founder of Crass whose voice is a most effective vehicle for the musical words of Wilfred Owen . Backing that are the considerable talents of Kate Short on cello and Liam Noble on piano. It’s world weary with a sly sidelong glance at times. The cello thrums and keens. The piano bypasses chords for the most part playing brilliantly off the rhythm of the words in its restless improvisations. It presents a compelling picture of war in all its banality horror sadness brutality pity but also starkness stillness humanity. What Passing Bells (The War Poems Of Wilfred Owen) by Penny Rimbaud

I’ve mentioned this on the socials recently but I wanted to highlight it here also. It’s a radio documentary made by a good friend of mine Paul McDermott – you’ll find him around here under Songs To Learn and Sing – about the Cork band Microdisney . I say Cork band – and there’s no doubt they are from here – but plenty of their many many fans probably don’t think of them in that way. What they certainly are is an intriguing, important, sometimes infuriating pop group and Paul’s painstaking piece of work is the definitive document of their life and times. It features in depth interviews with Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan (as well as dozens of others) whose insights add a huge amount to understanding the band’s music. By the way this is Paul’s third documentary that deals with the Cork post punk scene of the early 1980s that centred around the Arcadia venue. Check his documentaries about Nun Attax/Five Go Down To The Sea? and Stump – they are very much companion p...

On the face of it you might not think much connects these too. One was a 1960s folk singer songwriter whose deceptively subversive tunes got the fabulous Jack Nitzsche production treatment and who later faded from pop view. The other was blind from early in life who taught himself music and dressed as a Viking to busk on 6th Avenue in New York and whose music has influenced some of the most important composers of the late 20th century (Reich, Nyman, others). But a while back I was playing ‘Counting’ on the show and something about it made me think of Moondog. The arrangements are not very alike. One is a waltz and builds on a bed of thrumming acoustic guitar and an insistent triangle/chime assisted by glorious strings. The other is in wrongfooting 5/4 time (or is it 10/8?) and builds on a simple drum pattern with throbbing sawed violins before the onset of marvellous brass and reed conjunctions. It’s as if ‘Counting’ lives in the pop music world but has an...

Beautiful album of bright and bracing guitar instrumentals from this Chicago duo collaboration. The range of styles spanned over the course of just half an hour is a clue to the open mindedness and sense of adventure of both musicians. Some highlights. The pastoral proud maybe even courtly atmosphere of ‘The grand old trout’ nodding in the direction of the great Bert Jansch. Sublime key changes and hints of French jazz in ‘Lower Chesnut’. The uplifting addition of tabla drums on ‘I heard them singing’. The energising bends and slides of ‘Lonesome traveler’. There’s a real sense of the shared joy in playing about the whole piece. A gorgeous miniature body of work and in many ways perfect music for this time of year. SpiderBeetleBee by Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker

A Christmas Cracker this week folks. A journey through some less travelled paths of seasonal music. Atheists/Social Realists – Gruff Rhys & Owensie Exotica – Arthur Lyman & Esquivel Blaring Jazz – Pony Poindexter Pre Modern – Laura Cannell & Lost Idol Folktronica/Bonkers Unicorn Strand – Sufjan Stevens Plus some classic spoken word from the absolute legend that was Dylan Thomas . More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 472 Tues Dec 12 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/a3E7Rx Playlist Gruff Rhys – Post apocalypse Christmas Owensie – The old breadline Dylan Thomas – A childhood Christmas in Wales (extract) John Cale – A childhood Christmas in Wales (li...

There’s a bunch of Best of 2017 cuts in this week’s show (the 2nd last of the year), all of which you’ll be hearing more about when I do my end of year round ups later in the month. Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble , brilliant Brazilian inflected kosmische Loma , magnificent slowcore meaderings Matthew Bourne , exquisite use of silence piano cello and a room The Bonk , jazz having its knees scuffed by prog pop Laura Cannell , bracing pre modern invocations. And Bonny Doon , one of the most poignant lyrics of the year wrapped in Silver Jews clothes. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 471 Tues Dec 5 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/LHt96o Playlist Jason Falkner – ...

Storming backbeat with an irresistible motorik pulse... ...and the irrefutable presence of what sounds very like an air raid siren. Complete with dancefloor breakdowns. Lovely laid back jangle pop guitar which works for some reason. And David Byrne style delivery. Plus they’re from Manchester. It’s all good. https://soundcloud.com/melodic-records/w-h-lung-want

A great collection to mark 10 years of the Manchester-based label featuring 25 artists who have graced its releases over that time. My own personal highlights are – the beautiful delicate cello lines of Andy Nice the bracing pre-modern overbowed violin swells of Laura Cannell the compelling folk narratives of The Doomed Bird of Providence the wonderful loops and samples of Sone Institute building guitar slides and phrases with birdsong and electronic pulses. It warms the heart and the ears that this label is alive in the world. LESSONS by Various Artists

Another gorgeous helping of late night lounge love songs smouldering with desire and longing. There are a couple of new songs. Some recycled. And the majority live from last year’s tour of Future Standards . The great news is the central presence of Lonna Kelley who is becoming a regular collaborator of Gelb’s. Her persuasive voice mercifully free of vibrato is a wonderful foil to Gelb’s insinuating melodies. The two new songs ‘Presumptuous’ and ‘All you need to know’ are both worthy additions to Gelb’s epic canon of work and to the body of the classic American songbook. What’s also fascinating is to ponder how Tucson – a part of the US you might associate with the Mexican border and country music and what might be called Americana or folk or roots – can give rise to this convincing blend of jazz and blues and maybe Gershwin. Amounting to a brand of lounge that detours in a carefree manner around the dreaded Easy Listening label. That is to say they contain a ...

There’s a kinda core of lounge music at the heart of this week’s show. Howe Gelb has expanded on last year’s Future Standards album with the wonderful Lonna Kelley joining him for some new songs and a few updated. Check that for the voices alone, the sumptuous backing is a bonus. The late Andy Williams has always had a lot of love round here. Here he is with a gorgeous arrangement of a classic. And some great Italian jazz from Armando Trovajoli . Brilliant and thanks to Trunk Records for the tip. As we’re at it let’s throw Lee Hazlewood into that basket too. From his masterful Swedish soujourn in 1970. Tenniscoats , a different kind of lounge, a beautiful drifting naive folk pop one. And Loma . Not lounge per se. But slow moving and weighty and absolutely compelling. More on thesepages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: U...

A lovely slice of psych with a small p pop from the band lead by David Thayer which draws collaborations from such as Laetitia Sadier (Thayer is also part of the Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble ), John Herndon of Tortoise and Giorgio Tuma. On this single Caroline Sallee of Caroline Says sings her own lyrics while chorusy guitars cavort analogue synths swoop and field recordings of birds flit in and out. It comes across like a chilled but insistent Sterolab offcut with the bass in particular beautifully high and close and warm in the mix. Sumptuous and slinky.

There’s a wonderful weight to this music. Could be the weight of longing. Or regret. Or desire. Maybe even fear. But the air is thick with it. It is Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater with Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski of Cross Record . It is the kind of song that could haunt your waking hours.

A new project to mark your cards with on the show this week. Loma is Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater , with Emily Cross & Dan Duczynski of Cross Record . Together they make some wonderful slow moving weighty sounds. A little ambient. A little epic. They would remind you a bit of the great Low , who are in here too, as well as Old Fire with an interesting cover of a Low song. Chloe March is back with a new album which is great news – stunning rarefied synth compositions with layers of her remarkable voice. Plus still not sick of the marvellous 'Semicircle song' from The Go! Team . More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 469 Tues Nov 21 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here ...

Bonny Doon sounding like an in their 20s Silver Jews with the poetry and the guitars and the wonderful bittersweet stance on life. The tone is laconic self deprecating. But full of emotion in between the lines. The poetry of these says it all - liquor store slippery floor I saw my reflection in a bottle of wine like a neon sign And especially this coup de grace – I got a couple of texts from my mom one said happy birthday and the other one was a smiley face a sideways heart xoxo we miss you won’t you come on home Meanwhile the guitars and drums keep a stoic presence. It's soulful in the way white people can sometimes be. It’s a very beautiful thing.

Something I’ve been thinking about for a while is a cello themed show. Well a little preview in the middle of this week’s show. Penny Rimbaud was in Crass and has made a very interesting new album of treatments of Wilfrid Owen’s war poems, featuring some gorgeous piano and cello. I wouldn’t call it backing, it’s more like a jazz trio with one of the parts being a voice. Also in there is the Andy Nice contribution to the Front & Follow compilation celebrating 10 years in the world, beautiful loops and layers. And Solo Collective teasing out the durational element of this endlessly fascinating instrument. Little Tornados making beguiling dream pop featuring Caroline Sallee of Caroline Says . Who is in there in her own right with one of my favourite songs of the year somehow bridging the gap between bossa nova and kosmische. And Bonny Doon sounding like a young 20s Silver Jews with the poetry and the guitars and the wonderful bittersweet stance on life. More on the...

Centrepiece of this week’s show was a little piece of an interview with Kramies who has a new single out now on Hidden Shoal . He’s an interesting guy and has worked with plenty of other interesting people – Jason Lytle and Todd Tobias to name a couple. Also this week we had euphoric prog pop from Montero . Sumptuous lounge music from Howe Gelb with the brilliant Lonna Kelley . Bonkers and charming naive pop from Tenniscoats . And klezmer jazz from Berlin 1941 courtesy of the great Lift it up compilation on Gut Feeling . More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 467 Tues Nov 7 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/koM2Te Playlist Montero – Vibrations ( playing Vicar Stre...

The Go! Team on the show again this week - better get used to that, it's one of the best pieces of music heard anywhere in some time. Moondog and Bob Lind to begin. An odd pairing you might say. But I wonder if Jack Nietzsche (whose genius you can hear in the production of 'Counting') was aware of the Viking of 6th Avenue? Something in that glorious swirling arrangement sounds to me like it's speaking to the marvellous rounds and overlapping rhythms and time signatures of Moondog. Drahla have a nice line in Sonic Youth esque tight jagged post punk. Lean Year and The Saxophones , two of a great current crop of American artists plying the edges of dream pop to intriguig effect. And speaking of that, one of the classics from Julee Cruise with the handiwork of Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch not far away. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.face...

Grace Cooper from San Francisco treats us to some tasty slowcore from the irresistibly titled album Life with Dick . Insistent. Unpredictable. A little bit dangerous. Two guitar chords and a high hat are the tools employed as Cooper croons somewhere between Chan Marshall and Kurt Cobain. There’s a wonky slacker feel to the fuzz chords which is particularly endearing. To add to the sense of intrigue. Lovely stuff.

The spirit of GBV and Pavement is alive and well on this Melbourne 4-piece’s excellent second album. Satisfying not as simple as they sound guitars make hay with gorgeous go ahead drumming. In general the feel is of the joy of the bandroom. But let’s also point out the superior songwriting and nagging tunes at the heart of gems like ‘Chancer’ and ‘Cruiser’. It’s a beautiful thing. Good by The Stevens

This week’s show has a lot of great music. At least four of my favourite tunes of the year (you know the ones if you're here regularly). But really this week come for the pop genius of The Go! Team ...brass band handclaps xylophones joyous teenage guest singers. Then stay for the rest. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 465 Tues Oct 24 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/HajPmV Playlist The Go! Team – The semicircle song ( playing Electric Ballroom, London, Feb 15 ) Hater – Blushing ( playing Rough Trade East, London, Nov 29 ) This is the Kit – By my demon eye ( playing Cyprus Ave, Cork, Jan 16 ) Montero – Vibrations ( playing Vicar Street, Dublin Nov 22, w ...

Great pop music comes in many different forms. However there are some combinations of elements that even on paper are close to guaranteed to bring about wonderful results. A brass band. Handclaps. Shakers. Xylophones. A chorus of oohs. Add to that the way around a melody and bouncing backbeats which are two of the things we love most about The Go! Team . And the sheer exuberance of the group of Detroit teenagers who guested on vocals. Did I mention that the singers introduce themslves along with their starsigns during the breakdown? (Plus is that a theremin in the background?) A joyous riot and a genius pop song.

A couple of main themes this week. Seminal psych folk or country figures in Gene Clark and Bob Lind . Chris Gantry is getting a reissue on Drag City , Nashville but not as you probably dreamed. And Michael Nau and Damien Jurado , two contemporary US songwriters bringing great psychedelic undercurrents to modern folk music. The second section is all about the soundtracks. A couple of brilliant pieces from the year just gone, Nicholas Britell and Mica Levi respectively, from two excellent films also, Moonlight and Jackie . And some jazz inflections from Mikael Tariverdiev (classical Russian style) and Martial Solal (frantic French Nouvelle Vague style). Plus The Bonk , lovely prog pop shapes weaving dreamily around jazz and other things. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 464 Tues ...

Beguling naive pop (or avant pops as they have called it in the past) with brass and reed from the Japanese duo. Piano trumpet and a clarinet take most of the load making gorgeous circling patterns. Saya Ueno’s vocal is the cherry leading the melody where the other instruments follow. Sometimes simple things are the most beautful. And affecting. Track 9 in this playlist

Meet Ben Montero of Melbourne who is currently shacking up in Athens and by all appearances (from the music video anyway) having a whale of a time on the Mediterranean. This storming tune has shades of Connan Mockasin and Tame Impala although imagined through MOR/soft rock rather than filthy funk or psych rock. A quick perusal of his Facbook confirms the suspicion that this is the music of someone quite happy to proclaim love for the likes of Fleetwood Mac and REO Speedwagon. Which in itself is a beautiful thing. There’s also the small matter of a song which begins with a chorus especially one as good as this. A lost art in pop music. The sound of genius in the making I feel.

Some very tasty underground sounds on the show this week. Japanese band Tenniscoats are back with the latest part of their epic Music Exists series – all three albums are now releasing on vinyl – gorgeous naïve folk melodies meet outsider pop. The estimable Front & Follow label are 10 years old and are celebrating with a compilation of their most excellent roster, Lessons . We heard Andy Nice , sumptuous cello lines, and Sone Institute , a gorgeous drifting mixture of loops, samples, spoken word and field recordings. From her own new album, but also featured on Lessons , Laura Cannell with another bracing blast of pre modern overbowed violin. Speaking of outsider pop, although it could make a play for the major leagues, is Montero – exceedingly catchy psych pop/soft rock. And This is the Kit , just confirmed for Cork show in January. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blo...

A couple of Cork bands taking to the road soon on the show this week. The Bonk feature Philip Christie from O Emperor and friends. On their debut album there’s a great mix of doomsday jazz and prog pop with some swamp rock on the side. Fixity you’ll know if you’re a regular listener to the show. Based around drummer (and many other things) Dan Walsh and a rotating cast of collaborators. Thrilling dreamy soundscapes you can dance to. Imagine. Also. Cool Ghouls , wonderful Byrds meets Creedence Clearwater Revival grooves. PINS , more stirring anti anthems – “I’m only here to serve the rich.” And some autumnal gems from The Kinks & Lee Hazlewood . More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 462 Tues Oct 3 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen li...

Something very active in my ether this month and a sound that would remind you of Berlin. Warm fluid dance music in the territory of a Caribou or a Floating Points. Soulful. Hook laden. Insinuating. Wonderful pop music.

Things you should know. Phil Christie of O Emperor is involved. Bit of Beefheart. Bit of doomsday jazz. Bit of improv spirit. Bit of mongrel swamp rock action. Prog pop tendencies. More than the sum of its parts. In short very good. Cipher by The Bonk Monologue by The Bonk Ancestor by The Bonk

It’s good to have St Vincent in the world. And it’s good to have St Vincent back in pop music. I imagine most people’s view of this song will be coloured by the staggering video which is a breathtaking pop art meets surrealist confection directed by Alex Da Corte. But for me this song nods back to her first album a little when the music was as baroque and intriguing as her choice of moniker. In particular the moment the massed bank of St Vincents in the chorus sing these lines - I have lost a hero I have lost a friend One of this year's anthems I can feel it in my bones. I wonder if those lines are a reference to David Bowie but the uplift of emotion is glorious in any case. It could just be a love letter to the home of art pop. Or a hymn to motherfuckers everywhere. Legend.

A musical collaboration between a film maker and a former academic. That’s the kind of set up liable to put some people off. But this project involving Rick Alverson and Emilie Rex has many great things. Textures to hang your hat on. Haunting melodies. Intriguing atmospheres. A sense of yearning and adventure. (Are they the same thing?) A certain kind of classic 60s folk music is clearly an influence although fed through a surrealist filter. The citing of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s film Holy Mountain in the song of the same name is a clue to where they’re coming from. In 'Come and see' a finger strummed guitar is the main company for the beautiful double tracks of Rex's vocal. One strained high. One soft close up. String swells make a compelling chamber atmosphere in 'Watch me'. In my favourite 'Her body in the sky' Rex's voice sounds like it will break at any second as a clarinet noodles around a to die for organ hoo...

There’s something about duets, and something extra about husband and wife duets. This week we had the new song from The Saxophones , another gorgeous/unsettling dream pop number straight out of a David Lynch soundtrack. Then later one of the classics of the genre, Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin with the lesser known yang to the yin of 'Je t’aime'. And Dean & Britta with what is probably a homage to Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra/Suzi Jane Hokom and isn’t that just fine. Other than that some sumptuous cuts from The Clientele, Hater and This is the Kit . And wonderful Russian film music from 1975 from Mikael Tariverdiev . More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 461 Tues Sept 26 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web...

Another fantastic slice of psych folk boogie from the Parisian resident et sa bande a famille. Certain trademark elements are all in place. Lethally infectious melodies. Baggy dancefloor friendly grooves. A progressive bent but endearingly lightly held. Most of all a glorious horn section adding an extra burst of energy and maybe it’s just me but throwing a nod in the direction of ska on this track perhaps giving a teasing hint at fruitful avenues of exploration for TITK in the future. A wonderful group to have in the world.

A few themes in this week’s show. Female folk artists. Bedouine , bringing a great soulful touch (and a Middle Eastern tinge if you listen closely) to a sound reminiscient of 60’s folk pop. Lean Year , a male-female duo in fact, but a psychedelic swirl of intrigue amidst hushed melodies. Something cosmic. Colleen , using a Moog to convey the universe, gorgeously. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith , using a Buchla Music Easel to create brilliantly light and playful electronic tunes. And Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra , a genius orchestra with swing or is it jazz sound. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 460 Tues Sept 19 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/G8Wrvx Playlist...

Another to die for slice of dream pop from Oakland husband and wife duo Alexei Erenkov and Alison Alderdice . The combination of plucked electric guitar with pillowy synths and softly thudding floor toms would inevitably put you in mind of Angelo Badalamenti. In fact this tune wouldn’t sound out of place in a David Lynch film with its air of hushed disquiet. A storm of emotion hidden under a calm exterior. Gorgeous and unsettling in equal measure. Aloha by The Saxophones

A predominance of people playing live shows this week. Robert Forster is in Europe promoting his wonderful memoir Grant & I , giving public interviews and playing songs from his own and The Go Betweens legendary back catalogues. Amiina and Autre Monde are just two of the many bands playing the Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival in Cork this week. We also had haunting folk music from The Doomed Bird of Providence and The Nightjar . And sumptuous dream pop from The Saxophones , music to dream and yearn to. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 459 Tues Sept 12 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/j55QsQ Playlist Julie Byrne – Follow my voice ( playing Union Chapel,...

First show back after the August holiday and we’re working through a bit of a backlog but that can be good. Russian soundtrack maestro Mikael Tariverdiev , a great melancholic string swoon. Colleen , a beautiful Moog-based kosmische. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra , wonderful quixotic orchestral shapes. Ariel Pink , glorious lovelorn jangle pop. And The Clientele , adding brass to a sunset Byrdsian sound quite brilliantly. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 458 Tues Sept 5 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here goo.gl/tt2fiQ Playlist Colleen – November Lali Puna - Two windows Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra – Vula ( playing Musikbrauerei, Berlin, Oct 14 ) Diagnos -...

There’s a beautiful rambling psych pop flavour to the latest single from this Swedish band’s debut album. It would tend to remind you of the pastoral and elegant sounds of Cluster. Burbling synths make the background while stately guitar lines and serene organ sketch the foreground. As if Papa M took a detour into kosmische. It’s gorgeous.

There’s a welcome strain of mad bastard floating around a certain brand of German music lately and a good portion of it seems to emanate from the Alien Transistor label. AMEO are an 18 piece ensemble lead by Daniel Glatzel based in Berlin and this music could really make you want to move there. From the blurb: It arrives gently, with shimmering lights, soft winds, sashaying melodies, and of course, the isotherms and isotheres function just as they should: All of a sudden, lighting strikes amid the concord of instruments, unforeseen energies erupt and upset the rhythmic scenery with elemental force. Making a combined effort to create sheltering patches of harmony within the unfolding drama, leader Daniel Glatzel and his 18-piece “working band” set out to harness album #4...imagine Michel Legrand meeting Maurice Ravel at a Gil Evans gig. To that I would also add the lightness and sparkle of a Joe Hisaishi Studio Ghibli soundtrack. And the joyousness frivolity and el...

There’s a compelling stalking atmosphere to this tune. And a lovely warped feel to the prismatic guitar. The voice is a wonderful instrument twisting words out of the side of the mouth making intriguing inflections. With the blues wrapping around and a hint of the swagger of early Bowie. It’s a great thing when pop music can be understated and dramatic at the same time.

A lovely loud/soft kinda thing from Cory Hanson and buds. Again (as on his great solo album from last year) he sounds scarily like Marc Bolan and the loud bits here are not a million miles from the hip swinging boogie that T Rex brought to the world. But I must say the soft parts take the prize for me. Winsome. Twinkling. Tender even in their vaguely psychedelic demeanour. When the band crashes in it all crackles with intent.