The Underground of Happiness

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...

An album of haunting shifting pop music from this London group which is equally at home with both swooning melodies and shuddering textures. ‘Estuary’ is a song which swings between both these poles. An ominous opening of circular bass and hissing ride cymbal give way to the height of dream pop with washes of organ and banks of filtered backing vocal aws. Still it’s more dreamy dark than dreamy bright with a clipped Nico-esque quality to the vocal delivery of Alice Merida Richards (also plenty of top end on those esses) and a loping drumbeat which has a distinct post punk feel, in fact coming on like punk funk played at walking pace. These strands are developed further over the course of the album – the disturbing dream haze of ‘A complex outline’, the fascinating kosmische/motorik exploration of ‘World contact’, the mesmerising synth spirals and post punk jolt of ‘Meshes’, the riveting Stereolab-esque stoic of 'Marnie'. (Plus in fairness you also have to love a ba...

We had a number of great male crooners on this week's show (I feel a special coming on...), starting with Adrian Crowley , the slightly heartbroken variety, then Daniel Knox , a jauntier cabaret style, later Jon De Rosa , a classic 50s style with gravitas, and Marker Starling who comes under blue eyed soul more, with a great pathos under the smoothness. Stewart Lee has not to my knowledge sung on record before but he has now, covering Shirley Collins with Stuart Estel for a tribute album to mark her 80th year coming out on Earth Recordings for Record Store Day . Virginia Wing , making intriguing psych pop; Colleen making meditational dub sounds; Jessica Pratt , bending time with a sublime folk cut. And Moondog , the man himself making oh so sweetly challenging "classical" music with daughter June on vocals from 1970, and then his influence on Kenny Graham from 1956, which comes out like some wonderful interplanetary exotica. More on these pages. *No podca...