The Underground of Happiness

A beautiful album of finely wrought songs from the Manchester folk singer, her third. I say folk singer and she is on one level, but really this album brings together so many alluring influences that I wouldn't like to contain her in that pigeonhole. It’s called Dancing and many of the songs are like slowed down or re-imagined dance tunes – dance tunes with the obvious dancey bits removed. You could still dance to them of course but the average clubber might be a bit nonplussed. ‘Mexico’ for example uses layered vocals, a sprightly piano and some handclaps to paint an ethereal, hazy mood; given the right remix/booming backbeat, the average clubber might not be so nonplussed. ‘Simon says dance’ – dancing as a metaphor for love or life - has a similar piano core with a background synth hum. The only rhythmic feature on this album version is a bank of brilliant, bird-like, syncopated backing vocals, although the single version takes on the dancing conceit by adding a feather...

Melt Yourself Down were/are on tv with Jools Holland this week, which is great, so why not give them first stab, paired with some New York No Wave from Mofungo . New music this week from Halves, also Camera Obscura, Nancy Elizabeth from her enchanting new album, TEEN and a beautiful guitar instrumental from Glenn Jones . This Is The Kit (new album out on Brassland, The National's label) and The Lucid Dream both tour Ireland this week. We also had more great soundtrack work from John Parish . And my new favourite band, V.O. from Brussels (pictured). Their 'When you see red' is one of the songs of the year, a drifting, shifting piece of prog pop, appropriately produced by John McEntire of Tortoise. It also seems to be a protest song, a call to arms, but apart from that it's irresistible and bar-raising pop music. May 21 2013 show w/ Melt Yourself Down,Colleen,This Is The Kit,Camera Obscura,Halves,John Parish++ by Theundergroundofhappiness on Mixcloud...

A few new releases this week. Some great spooky, fairy tale sounds from Colleen from her new album, her first in several years and god to hear her back on form. And a wonderful fuzz drone instrumental with violin from the new Date Palms release The Dusted Sessions . Also on Thrill Jockey , more from the John Parish soundtrack album Screenplay , that's great stuff, and the new single from Nancy Elizabeth on Leaf , folk music taken beautifully to the dancefloor. The always reliable power pop of Telekinesis , the edgy but melodic electro pop of Monocle . Loads of good Irish music around, like Cat Dowling, Peter Delaney, Last Days of 1984, The Altered Hours , more on the blog as always (reminder of The Altered Hours Interview as well from last week, over there on the right in the Interviews section...) May 14 2013 show w/ Cat Dowling,Date Palms,John Parish,Serge & Brigitte,Deerhunter,Colleen++ by Theundergroundofhappiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happin...

The new single from Nancy Elizabeth's upcoming third album, Dancing , this is more of a grower compared to the immediate impact and sweep of the previous single 'The last battle'. Nevertheless, a great air of mystery and captivation still emerges, via a hint of a Balearic beat and an ageless choir of Nancys. A repeating piano arpeggio is the main musical motif, set against banks of those beautifully delicate backing vocals, until a drum machine, some fuzzy bass and twinkling synths give the song title its head. There's an interesting provenance to that title. "I was thinking about how easy it is to walk around thinking that you exist in isolation - to feel somehow cut off. When the fact is that we all have an effect on everyone we interact with all the time and vice versa. I wrote a little poem about it, using dancing as an analogy." Great. Such philosophical reflections are one of the things pop music should be for. I can't wait to hear...

Some more this week from the Bernard Cribbins album on Trunk Records, the wonderful ‘Gossip Calypso’. Ennio Morricone was announced to play Dublin this week, we had some classic soundtrack work from the master, paired with the great new Nancy Elizabeth single, which evokes the great man. Beautiful ambient drift from Pieter Nooten’s epic new double album, some neat electro pop from ESB feat. Perry Blake , and Polly Scattergood’s new single. New Irish music from Biggles Flys Again (great voice), O Emperor (an intriguing folk-krautrock hybrid) and some lovely lyrical surrealism a la Pavement from Wicklow’s Policy . April March & Aquaserge and Elephant were back again – can’t get enough of those tunes – and more from the great new William Tyler album of incredibly evocative guitar instrumentals, alongside a classic from The Byrds , who tap into some of the same 12-string electric guitar sources. Mar 26 2013 show w/ Ennio Morricone,Pieter Nooten,Biggles Flys Again,O Emper...

A few new tracks this week from female artists, or female-fronted bands, all of which are great. April March & Aquaserge have a great slice of French yé-yé with some psych pop thrown in; Nancy Elizabeth (pic) takes folk music thrillingly into Morricone territory; and Elephant channel doo wop via shoegaze. All round beautiful stuff. On top of that, we had three of the Choice Music Prize nominees (the Irish version of the Mercury Prize), which is announced on Thursday – Adrian Crowley, Mumblin’ Deaf Ro and windings will be well known to regular listeners, especially from last year. Also the great Melt Yourself Down (this song is now being used in a tv ad!), some lovely soulful house music from Corkman Denis Clifford , and various playful and progressive pop cuts from Shout Out Louds, Hero & Leander and Chin of Britain (that wins the prize for best band name in quite a while). Opening were September Girls (playing in Dublin Sunday), closing some peerless 90’s guitar p...

Completely spellbinding folk music with a Morricone sweep, via massed banks of female sopranos - subtly doubletracked with mouth whistles, if I’m not mistaken - marching drumbeats and bracing harp arpeggios (is that a harpsichord as well?). There is also a genius keychange involved, as if you weren’t out of your seat already. That this amount of texture and emotional range could be devised in the singer’s Manchester flat (which is reportedly tiny) is a matter of shame to any number of bands who waste studio resources creating aural turds. Elizabeth’s third album is forthcoming later in the spring and it better be on everyone’s list. The Last Battle by Nancy Elizabeth It reminds me just a little bit of this all-time classic from 1971…