The Underground of Happiness

Here's another 23 tunes to complete my mid year round up of favourite music on the show in 2016 so far. It's the companion piece to the July 26th show making 41 tracks altogether. Even at that, I'm sure I've forgotten a few. For now enjoy. Rozi Plain - Marshes Morgan Delt – I don’t wanna see what’s happening outside Nick Garrie – The nightmare of JB Stanislas Damien Jurado – November 20 Nadia Reid – Reaching through Nap Eyes – Lion in chains Pedro Soler & Gaspar Claus – Cuerdas al viento Brigid Mae Power – It’s clearing now Kevin Murphy – Your heart’s a circle around me Emma Pollock – Intermission We Show Up On Radar – Rockety rock This is the Kit - Les plus beaux William Tyler – I’m gonna live forever (If it kills me) Giorgio Tuma – Maude hope Tindersticks – Second chance man Lake Ruth – The inconsolable Jean-Claude Astronauts – Civil Engineer Man of Moon - Sign Ulrika Spacek - Porcelain Melt Yourself Down – Dot to dot The Comet Is Co...

A beautiful album of (mostly) chamber pop capable of swinging between noirish and swooning melancholy tones and sharp as a pin lyrically, from the co-founder of The Delgados. So you have string drenched French style torch songs like ‘Don’t make me wait’; spooky stalked atmospheres like ‘Alabaster’, a satisfyingly piquant slice of regret and betrayal; and intimate austere string quartet arrangements like ‘Intermission’, full of throbbing cello and sawing violins. The frantic buzzing backbeat of single ‘Parks and Recreation’ drags things out of the chamber and into the garage, a detour confirmed by the great thudding prog pop of ‘Vacant stare’. This mini run is closed with the very appealing ‘In the company of the damned’, a simple restless electric guitar strum, a faint drone and a wonderful clear-eyed lyric of sycophants and cheats. The album closes as it opened in a minor key with the sublime and spacious orchestral folk of ‘Dark skies’ and the deceptively cutting ‘Old gh...