The Underground of Happiness

More from the fine debut September Girls album this week (pic) - they're around Ireland and the UK playing live this month. A little country rock - Mike Nesmith and on the more melancholy, orchestral end, Bob Lind . Serge Gainsbourg's classic Histoire de Melody Nelson has just been written about in the 33 1/3 series, Jean Claude Vannier was the essential collaborator/orchestrator on that project. New Neville Skelly album due soon, new Barry McCormack out now. New music from Jacques Caramac and Ezra Furman , love those. And two from 1969 - Scott Walker and Ennio Morricone . I wonder did they listen to each other? Jan 14 2014 Show w/ Sept Girls,Jacques Caramac,Ezra Furman,Pontiak,Serge G,Ennio M,Scott Walker++ by Theundergroundofhappiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 294 Tues Jan 14 2014 11.00am-...

Whatever the weather is doing in Éire (which is probably what Queen Elizabeth called Ireland as a child), you know it's summer when tunes like the new Pains single are unleashed. As predicted here last month. (The video has a kind of High Fidelity meets School of Rock vibe - suggests it should have starred Jack Black...). The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heart in your heartbreak (Fortuna Pop/PIAS, from the album Belong ) Perfect slice of sunshine, shoegaze pop (sungaze anyone?), from the New Yorkers' second album. The soundtrack of your summer, if you're lucky.

As you'll be aware, the Primavera Sound Festival is taking place in Barcelona in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately for me I won't make it this year but I started thinking about previous trips to the East coast of Spain in May. One memorable one was 2009. I had a few interviews lined up in advance, including with Crystal Stilts . This was a band I had first heard of through the Stereogum blog around the end of 2008. Their song Crippled croon got completely under my skin, sounding like a jangly garage rock throwback in thrall to Phil Spector. I had arranged to meet the tour manager after the band played their (great) set on the Pitchfork stage. So far so spiffing. Things never being that simple, we somehow missed each other. After a bit of hanging around, I repaired to the Food Court with my companions, resigned to missing out on the interview. As we sat with our Yo La Tengo and Michael Nyman sandwiches, who did I spot across a crowded room but the band's keyboard player. ...

Crystal Stilts - In love with oblivion (Fortuna Pop) As I've said before, this is a special band. Among the many delights on this record, you will find: the great oscillating bassline of Sycamore tree ; the Byrdsian shimmer of Silver sun ; the swirling Animals-esque organ of Shake the shackles (which somehow also sounds, thrillingly, like early Go-Betweens); the stomping reverb guitar hook of Precarious stair , eventually submerged under an authentic garage rock beat; the fantastic tambourine and organ rush of Half a moon ; the VU-ish John Cale piano+Lou Reed guitar thrash of Prometheus at large ; the couldn't-give-a-fuck vocals of Brad Hargett while all around him musical fireworks go off. And finally, the mention of Bo Diddley in an interview from 2009 (below) reminds me that the wonderful Blood barons is a runaway train BD beat. This is a brilliant album. Free d'load of Through the floor http://www.fortunapop.com/free_download.php?id=28 Through the floor -