The Underground of Happiness

And to finish off this strange July a first digital release for a little treasure from 1981. Kaught at the Kampus is a somewhat legendary title for people of a certain vintage. Those who remember the Arcadia Ballroom which was the kind of pre-Henry’s Sir Henry’s in Cork. A rock venue that played host to the fledgling U2 as well as The Cure, UB40 and plenty of other worthy names of the time. This Downtown Campus was run by Elvera Butler who persuaded the leading Cork bands of 1981 to be part of a live recording. It’s a live EP recorded at Elvera’s UCC gig Downtown Kampus, features tracks by post-punk bands such as Nun Attax, Mean Features, Urban Blitz and the original line-up of Mircodisney. Finbarr Donnelly and Ricky Dineen of Nun Attax went on to form Five Go Down To The Sea and later Beethoven before Donnelly died tragically in London. Mean Features included singer Mick Lynch who went on to front Stump. And of course Microdisney “spawned” Fatima Mansions and Hi...

Debut single from Dublin 4-piece and it’s an absolute belter. The appearance of a 12-string electric alone makes it something of an event but apart from that there’s plenty more goodness in here. The tune itself is a blistering jangle pop gem, channelling equal parts Johnny Marr and Paisley Underground. There’s also a belligerence and bite to it that’s quite delicious. Check these lines – You’re a lost cause, you’re mindless and fickle Ignore your sister, she’s twisted and bitter Leave her alone with the babysitter . It’s most winsome and very clever but not at the expense of memorable hooks. It’s all enough to make you pine for the days when bands like Microdisney and Aztec Camera ruled the airwaves. It would certainly tend to restore your faith in guitar pop.

Another cut off the new Laurie Shaw album this week, along with a long-distance drone from Brisbane's Blank Realm . My favourite new song this week is from Dublin's Death in the Sickroom , a fantastic slice of jangle pop with teeth. More too from The Clientele reissue on Merge and Stars in Battledress with folk/classical gone wrong/right. Recent favourites Sabina, Tennis & Wussy . Plus some very dub-centred electronica from Automat , with a vocal turn from Genesis P-Orridge . More on these pages. June 10 2014 w/ Blank Realm,Laurie Shaw,Death in the Sickroom,Automat,Stars in Battledress++ by Conor O'Toole on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 314 Tues June 10 2014 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 http://goo...