The Underground of Happiness

Part 3 of this epic poem, and I hope your year's been good so far. We're at a faster clip (tempo basically) for this section, there's something about these songs that shows some kind of urgency, people in a hurry, on some kind of mission maybe. And it strikes me that few things in life are more exciting to me than pop music with progressive tendencies. What exactly this means we can debate but wrapping a pop tune around a literary/unexpected/twisted lyric or conceptual idea raises the genre to a higher artform. Or building a classic rock guitar riff then undercutting it with a kosmische synth. Or steeping a song in jazz influences only to strap a motorik backbeat onto it. Or...well you get the gist. Enjoy. ************************************************************************************************ 1. Ezra Furman – Restless year (from the album Perpetual motion people , Bella Union) Fantastic opening gambit from the lipsticked one’s current albu...

Special extended 2 hour show this week, including in the first hour... Girl Band who play in Cork next month Patrick Freeman who is running a fundit campaign for the release of his debut album Susan James from her gorgeous new album, with sumptuous arrangements by Sean O'Hagan The Chills , something old something new, both glorious Tom Furse of The Horrors with a solo EP on Lo Recordings , very exotica. And the 2nd hour of this week's show with such gems as... Laura Cannell evoking the ancient and natural world Spires That In The Sunset Rise with a bracing minimalism (flutes and horns), playing Gulpd in Cork in Sept De Lux channelling Talking Heads C Duncan dreaming the sweetest dream pop dreams Blank Realm kicking out the psych jams, they play Dublin this month. More on these pages. Sept 8 2015 Hr 1 w/ Tom Furse,Susan James,High Llamas,Patrick Freeman,Kathryn Joseph,Girl Band++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud Sept 8 2015 Hr 2 ...

I did a Best of 2015 Mid Year round up last month, about 1 hour of my favourite music of the year so far. Obviously there was no way I could fit everything I liked into 1 hour – I could easily have filled another hour or two. This song would certainly have made the 2nd hour, the lead track from the new album by Brisbane band Blank Realm , Illegals in heaven , amazingly their 10th by my count. I say amazingly because I only heard of the band for the first time last year. It’s not every day a “new” band with an 8/9 album back catalogue comes on your radar. And for that thanks to Fire Records who are bringing them out this side of the world, following previous outings on other esteemed labels Not Not Fun and Bedroom Suck . Anyway, Blank Realm explore various strands of psych rock - motorik rhythms, jagged thrashing or chiming heart-piercing guitars and compelling semi-tuneful vocals by brother and sister Sarah and Daniel Spencer ( Everett True calls the vocals no wave and I can’...