The Underground of Happiness

A second album of thrilling instrumentals from the Dublin-based duo of Kevin Murphy and Thomas Haugh , whose first album Melting cavalry still stands as one of the best instrumental albums of this century (at least). The main instruments are ostensibly cello and percussion but even at that not used in ways you might expect. The cello in particular is brought into unusual territory with bends, slaps and scrapes combining brilliantly with longer bowed notes to make a fascinating sonic landscape. ‘Pig iron prophet’ starts with a furious double time backbeat over staccato effects while trumpet and bass drones build the intrigue. There’s the wonderful widescreen cinematic atmosphere of ‘Kingdom of crooked mirrors’, an orchestra of zithers and strings played out over a marching drumbeat. The swooning chamber pop of ‘Century flowers’ and ‘Glass soldiers parade’. The noirish hum of ‘A mechanical Turk’, the genius deployment of high hats and cello harmonics during ‘In the Va...

A number of soundtrack cuts on the show this week plus a couple of great a capella tracks. Jean Claude Vannier is best known for arranging some of Serge Gainsbourg's greatest songs. He was also a composer in his own right and experimenter in all kinds of genres. Here we have a female choir singing, vocalising, exhaling, finger clicking, foot stomping...it's fantastic stuff. Rebekah Del Rio giving a great song one of the most magnificent cover makeovers ever, as used brilliantly in the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive . Mica Levi from the film Jackie , a glorious piece of musical counterpoint - the light as a feather flute with the deep sea draw of the cellos. Jerome Moross with an iconic western soundtrack from The Big Country. And Seti The First , not a soundtrack per se but it feels like it could be music for a film - thrilling, poised, orchestral instrumentals. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed...

Lots of orchestral influences on the show this week, it goes like that sometimes. Jon DeRosa , with the brilliant drone-and-strings of Snow coffin ; the great brass fanfare of Seti The First (playing Cork and Dublin this week - here's an interview I did with Kevin from the band for WeAreNoise , where he explains the title and thinking behind Victory Motel ); previously unreleased film music from Sylvain Chauveau ; more film music with signature and sublime vocals from Ennio Morricone ; and either side of the master, two current artists certainly influenced by him - Laetitia Sadier and Get Well Soon . There's also two lovely pieces of "modern" English folk music, from North Sea Radio Orchestra and The Singing Loins ; some beautiful, fuzzy dream pop from Dublin's September Girls ; Nils Frahm and Jens Lekman (both playing Cork's Half Moon Theatre soon). And B. Fleischmann (pictured), with a track from a wonderfully laconic album called I'm not ready fo...