The Underground of Happiness

visiting tokyo, cork, boston, melbourne, berlin, london, sunderland, rotterdam, belfast and dublin enjoy x Playlist 1. Bananagun – Free energy (Full Time Hobby) 2. Chalk – Tell me (Nice Swan) 3. Sprints – Up and comer (City Slang) 4. Rats on Rafts – Japanese medicine (Fire Records) 5. Memorials – Acceptable experience (Fire Records) 6. Silverbacks – Selling shovels (bandcamp) 7. The Last Sound – Sting Possible Combinations (Cruel Nature Records) 8. Albertine Sarges – Stand near your fire (Moshi Moshi) 9. Marcel Wave – Something looming (Upset The Rhythm) 10. Field Music – The waitress of St Louis (Memphis Industries) 11. The Silver Abduction – Remember my heart (Lightwell Recordings) 12. Katrina Ford – Dundalk dungeon (Violin Films) 13. Oslo Twins – Sally (Half Normal Records) 14. Hilary Bow – Fall fall (bandcamp) 15. Kugelschreiber – (me x u) ≠ (u x me) (Wamho Records) 16. muckno – manboy (bandcamp) 17. Throwing Muses – Drigstore drastic (Fire Records) ...

A quick mention for one of my favourite Irish bands of the last five years. Dublin’s The Last Sound which is organised mainly around the activities of one man Barry Murphy. Coruscate (the 7th album by my count) came out just before Christmas and is another particularly dreamy outpost of industrial pop. A gorgeous kosmische drift in among the clangs and propulsive motorik rhythms. A step on from 2013’s brilliant Rainbow Xplode (review here - there seems to have been another album in between which I missed). Again there’s a kind of wide eyed innocence at play – some might call it psychedelic. Bursts of filtered guitars and synths swaying in and out of focus around relentless backbeats. ‘Song of praise’ and ‘Found a rainbow’ are early standouts both full of thrumming bass. Dancefloor classics basically although maybe a more discerning than most kind of dancefloor. The vocals especially get hold. There’s something poignant about them swamped in a murky wash shoegaze styl...

Another set with a few more Best of 2016 picks and a share of new music. New Entrance album next month, baroque but heartfelt folk shapes. New Brian Eno , ambient majesty. Mick Harvey with Vol 4 of his great Serge Gainsbourg translations/interpretations. Mind Over Mirrors , antique drones. The Last Sound , brooding industrial pop soundscapes. And Rothko , bracing spoken word memoir over stark solo bass. 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 429 Tues Jan 10 2017 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 goo.gl/za8Ixn Playlist Cory Hanson – Replica Entrance – Winter lady Mind Over Mirrors – 600 miles around Alasdair Roberts – The downward road ( playing Café Oto, London, Feb 23 ) Hilma N...

And finally in this Irish round-up, The Last Sound . Actually this is a band you'll find in these pages before. It's one man, Barry Murphy , for the most part and his single of a couple of years ago 'Only the lonely know the glow is failing' was on constant play around here. The album is a brilliant fusion of pop tunes and dirty industrial noise. Doesn't sound promising? You need to hear it. Again, this review from the pages of WeAreNoise . http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2013/06/the-last-sound-rainbow-xplode-osaka/ The 5th studio album from Dubliner Barry Murphy, with Bryan O’Connell on drums, could be the perfect Irish summer record – shards of sun through dirty black clouds. The most impressive feature of the album for me is its capacity to carry genuine and lasting pop hooks on board waves of filthy background hum and industrial noise. Melodies, synth chugs and hummable bass parts literally trip over themselves in a race to the pop funny bone but ...

The new album from Dublin's The Last Sound comes out this week, we started the show with their knockout single from a couple of years ago taken from it, followed by more great drones from Date Palms . The new O Emperor album comes out soon too, it's very interesting, more from that over the next few weeks. More tasty Irish music in the shape of Cat Dowling, Floor Staff, Enemies & Sundernix . The Collision/Detection Box Set is out in June, from that wonderful series we heard Hong Kong in the 60s and Sone Institute . And something of a double play for Michael Rother , first drumming with Melbourne's Beaches (pictured), then in his own right with a NEU! classic from 1975. Somehow, motorik is sunny music. June 4 2013 Show w/ O Emperor,Beaches,NEU!,Date Palms,The Last Sound,Cat Dowling,Olof Arnalds++ by Theundergroundofhappiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.co...

A lotta new music this week and some bands you may have seen on tv lately. Low & Melt Yourself Down were both on Jools Holland last week, and great they were too. This Is The Kit (picture by Rory Coomey) played in Cork last w'end (brilliantly) and they're still on their Irish tour - their album is just re-released by Brassland of The National fame. Nancy Elizabeth remixed by Leaf labelmate Matthew Bourne, gorgeous of course. The Last Sound new album comes out next week, another killer number from them (is it goth-electro? I'm not sure, who cares...). Colleen being intriguing and mysterious about birds, from her first album in several years. V.O. being progressive and poppy and irresistible. Scout Niblett covering TLC. And this week's obligatory Thrill Jockey loveliness from Zomes . And of course Here Is Your Temple providing one of the great fist-in-the-air pop anthems of recent years. 'Once rich' shows no sign of getting tired any time soon. ...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 179 Tues June 7th 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) Cork Campus Radio, 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/ccr *listen back to this show at https://rapidshare.com/files/2876851482/UOH_Podcast_June_7_2011.mp3 Playlist Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The copper top (radio edit) Adrian Crowley - These icy waters ( playing King's Place, London, June 10, w/ Serafina Steer ) Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Messing with my life ( playing Oxegen Festival, Punchestown, July 9 ) Tune-Yards - Bizness ( playing Whelan's, Dublin, June 17 ) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Fright night (Damn Funk remix) ( playing Field Day Festival, London, Aug 6 ) EDM - Stereo/Video Jai Paul - BTSTU The Horror The Horror - Wilderness Chad VanGaalen - Sara John Stammers - The fridge (full band version) ...

Spooky little goth-electro (maybe post-wave?) number from Dublin artist. Featuring a killer Top 40 chorus with banks of shoegazey male and female vocals, undercutting the isolation of the lyric. Another fascinating release on this excellent label. Single launch at The Joinery Gallery, Dublin, May 21, with Thread Pulls and Legion of Two The Last Sound - Only the Lonely know the Glow is Failing by osakaRecords The Last Sound: Only the Lonely Know the Glow is Failing from Osaka Records on Vimeo .

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 176 Tues May 17th 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) Cork Campus Radio, 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/ccr *listen back to this show at https://rapidshare.com/files/2996358250/UOH_Podcast_May_17_2011.mp3 Playlist High Llamas - Fly, baby fly ( playing Southbank Center, London, May 22 ) The Horror The Horror - Believe in magic The Knife, Mt Sims & Planningtorock - Colouring of pigeons (from the soundtrack to the opera Tomorrow, in a year , playing at Cork Opera House, June 24+25) The Last Sound - Only the lonely know the glow is failing ( playing The Joinery Gallery, Dublin, May 21, w/ Thread Pulls & Legion of Two ) Liz Janes - I don't believe ( playing The Slaughtered Lamb, London, May 22, w/ Julianna Barwick ) Washed Out - Eyes be closed Toro y Moi - New beat ( play...