The Underground of Happiness

The opening piano riff of Double summer. And I am in tears. For the 1990s. For my wasted/wonderful youth. For my 24 year old self. Regret and joy and yearning. For something. But that melody. That chorus. Gives me strength and hope. Here goes double summer. Sharing with one another. There was also Heavenly Pop Hit. My leather jacket. Male monster from the id. Monolith. You’re immortal. In the latter the bass player even played trumpet with one hand and bass with the other which was memorable in itself. But mostly thank fuck for Martin Phillipps .

A 2 hour show that went out on Mar 1st 2021 on UCC98.3FM. One in a series of occasional Lockdown Specials. Lot of new releases in this one, lot of good tunes. Enjoy x Playlist 1. The Chills – You’re immortal (Fire) 2. The Chills – Monolith (Fire) 3. Buffet Lunch – The power of rocks (Upset the Rhythm) 4. Cathal Coughlan – Owl in the parlour 5. The Hamrahlid Choir – Sonnets (One Little Independent) 6. Boa Morte – By the time 7. Colleen – Gazing at Taurus-Santa Eulalia (Thrill Jockey) 8. Lucy Gooch – Ash and orange (Fire) 9. Sarah Neufeld – Stories (One Little Independent) 10. Cory Hanson – Paper fog ( Drag City) 11. Jack Cheshire – Tiny hands (Loose Tongue Records) 12. Esther Rose – Keeps me running (Full Time Hobby) 13. M Ward – You’ve changed (ANTI) 14. Sam Brookes – 18 and sleeping 15. Goose – Viper 16. Dntel – Fall in love (Morr Music) 17. Ed Dowie – Number Eight wire (Needle Mythology) 18. Nation of Language...

The 2nd instalment of my Best of 2018 review. In no particular order although I wouldn't argue if you forced me to pick Kacey Johansing (pictured) as my album of the year. 3rd part to follow soon. Enjoy. Playlist Kacy & Clayton – The light of day (New West Records) Hiss Golden Messenger – Rock holy (Merge) Jess Williamson – I see the white (Mexican Summer) Kacey Johansing – Do you want me (Night Bloom Records/Melodic) Get Well Soon – Martyrs (City Slang) Lake Ruth – Julia’s call (Feral Child) Those Unfortunates – John Cronin is unwell Hater – I wish I gave you more time because I love you (Fire) Tanukichan – Perfect (Company Records) The Sea & Cake – I should care (Thrill Jockey) Crayola Lectern – Rescue mission (Onomatopoeia) BOYTOY – Mary Anne (Stolen Body Records) La Luz – Cicada (Hardly Art) The Chills – Bad sugar (Fire) Comet Gain – If not tomorrow (Tapete) Damien Jurado – Allocate (Secretly Canadian) Daniel Knox feat. Ni...

A collection of recent favourites here at UOH Towers. Mostly new or upcoming releases. Across genres. The way it should be. Plus a few of an older vintage. Enjoy. Playlist Elaine Malone – You Josephine Foster – Shepherd moon of starry height (Fire Records) Todd Tobias & Chloe March – Lillavva (Hidden Shoal) Kamasi Washington – Will you sing (Young Turks) Szun Waves – Moon runes (The Leaf Label) Spike & Debbie – Always sunshine (Tiny Global Productions) The Free Design – Make the madness stop (Project 3) Alison Statton & Spike – Open portal (Tiny Global Productions) Terry – The whip (Upset The Rhythm) Comet Gain – If not tomorrow (Tapete) Hater – I wish I gave you more time because I love you (Fire Records) The Chills – Deep belief (Fire Records) The Big Lovin’ – Adiadiadio The Honey Hahs – River (Rough Trade) Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread – When (Full Time Hobby) Lee Hazlewood – My autumn’s done come (Light in the Attic) Kathryn Jo...

Part 2 of this list, out of four in total, the others to follow in January. There will be another Best of Mix also over the next week, stay tuned to Mixcloud. ********************************************************************* 1. Trashcan Sinatras – Let me inside (Or let me out) A monumental year for fans of this treasured Scottish band. A new crowdfunded album, the wonderful Wild pendulum , possibly their best ever work, and tours in America and Europe. And having seen them play live in November, the big insight (other than the obvious genius on show) was the sheer soulfulness of the songs. So yeah, top notch tunes and buckets of soul. I’ll take that any year. http://theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.ie/2016/11/trashcan-sinatras-workmans-club-dublin.html Track 14 in this playlist 2. Britta Phillips – One fine summer morning (from the album Luck or magic, Double Feature) Another artist I saw play live in 2016. In these thoughts from last June, I was zoning...

Two bands from down under who burst through in the 1980s to start the show. The Moles have a new album out, it's great. From The Chills we heard from their 1986 album on Flying Nun , Kaleidoscope world, their album last year was a brilliant and thoroughly authentic update on the 1980s sound. The singular sound of Xylouris White who play Cork in October as part of the Jazz Festival (my kind of jazz). Syrinx , the kosmische sound of the Toronto early 70s underground, a beautiful thing. Nathan Bowles , making banjo swing and swoon. And Barry McCormack , the ex Jubilee Allstars man has a new album out, a rollicking folk rock set with a scathing eye on his home city of Dublin. Like The Fall, always the same, always different. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 416 Tues Sept 27 2016 11....

And so the final instalment of this Best of 2015 review, which has a Soul/Dream Pop tag ostensibly but really is a collection of odds and ends left over. (Floating Points, for example, could certainly have belonged in Part 1 if I had my head on straight a few weeks ago.) These round ups are by nature a time travel exercise, some of the music here being a year old. But even since Part 1 of the review in mid-December, the world seems a very different place. It's now a post-David Bowie time, a post-Mick Lynch time, mortality comes for all of us, better get used to it. Enjoy the music while you can. ************************************************************************************************ 1. Marker Starling – Husbands (from the album Rosy Maze , Tin Angel Records) Spring 2015 was all about my obsession with this song, a glorious discovery and an enduring memory from the year. From February - There’s an automatic association for Steely Dan, I think, a kin...

A few wonky Christmas numbers at the top of the show this week. Tex Ritter giving Santa a bit of western swing, The Three Suns bringing some excellent cheese (thank you Trunk Records ) and Astrocolour taking a more laid back, Air-ish approach to some classics of the season. Then a bunch of stuff that will be featuring in my Best of 2015 - The Drink , glorious twisting guitar shapes Field Music , horns on top of superior prog pop The Chills , heartlifting jangle pop Lee Hazlewood , a reissue but an absolute treasue of this year Robert Forster , elegaic, poetic, playful, wonderful. And Anderson (below), an Irish singer songwriter of substance and class. I like the way his jacket fits. More on these pages. Dec 8 2015 w Xmas Tunes, Field Music, The Drink, The Chills, Polar Bear, Anderson, Robert Forster++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.f...

One of the more heartwarming returns of recent years in (let’s call it) popular music is the story of Martin Phillipps and The Chills , who are contenders for most cruelly underappreciated band in the history of the world. This piece by Michael Hann from The Guardian last year does excellent justice to Phillipps’ rollercoaster backstory (although the quoted paragraph does contain one glaringly debatable statement which I’ll come back to). http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/nov/24/the-chills-martin-phillipps-comeback “In the late 80s, the Chills were one of the groups most likely to. After several years of adored singles, EPs and one album on New Zealand’s Flying Nun records – which made the proper charts there, and gained a devoted cult audience in the northern hemisphere – they’d signed to Warner Brothers. Their first album for Warner, 1990’s Submarine Bells, was critically adored, with a single – Heavenly Pop Hit – that was all over radio. But by the time its hit-and-m...

And so Part 2 of this end of year series. There seems to have been less up tempo electronic music on my radar this year, hence a few crop up in this mostly-guitar set. (There are some ambient and other electronic cuts to come in the final part of the round-up.) Let's not get hung up on that. Enjoy. 1. Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on you) (4AD) With all due respect to Hozier (who owed a lot in turn to the work of Feel Good Lost, plus maybe ‘Take me to church’ was more of a 2013 thing in any case?) and Kim Kardashian’s buttocks, here was the true thing that broke the internet this year. It showed the power to light up the world of sheer chutzpah – a short, barrel-chested man who can sing his heart out all night and dances like he doesn’t give a fuck who’s watching. On paper those are not the most promising ingredients, perhaps, but Sam Herring turns them into gold, when combined with the thrumming, soaring melodies of Will Cashion and Gerrit Welmers. Funnily enough,...

I'm big on The Chills lately (always really), their new Peel Sessions album is great and good to hear it in glorious stereo, from 1988 but sounding as fresh as a daisy. Paul Smith & Peter Brewis have produced one of the albums of this year, sublime chamber pop accompanying superior travel musings. Hiss Golden Messenger spreading their wings after a few years being a hidden treasure. Kevin Murphy with a new song that picks up where last year's wonderful LoveHate album left off. Also briliant cuts from Silver Apples, Kemper Norton, Elisa Luu , and more. It's all good. More on these pages. Nov 25 2014 w/ The Chills,HGM,SIlver Apples,Elisa Luu,Paul Smith/Peter Brewis,Voix Bulgares++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 334 Tues Nov 25 2014 11....

Another extended show this week, great to have time to pull out a few old treasures, along with the huge backlog of excellent recent releases, plus music from acts on tour in the autumn. The former category, 'Bonnie & Clyde' by Serge & Brigitte , that inspired and ageless slice of psych pop with the best ever "woo-hoo" in pop music (the giddy playfulness between them is a lovely subtext); Donnie & Joe Emerson , two Oregon farming brothers making bedroom pop sound fucking essential in 1979; and Cluster making pastoral, sky-gazing kosmische. The latter category, Amen Dunes , bringing their beautiful 1000 yard drones to Ireland this month; likewise Sean Nicholas Savage (pic), gorgeous bedroom soul from Montreal; SlowPlaceLikeHome , fuzzy and warm electronica from Donegal; Tennis , heart-melting white soul. And Pye Corner Audio , bringing the autobahn compellingly to English underground pop. Sept 9 2014 Hr 1 w/ Serge & Brigitte,Amen Dunes,Sean ...