The Underground of Happiness

We mentioned the sublime ‘Husbands’ from Mr Chris Cummings some weeks ago, that’s Marker Starling under his nom de musique. Next off the very sweet Rosy maze album is the nourishing sound of ‘Uphill battle’. Coming in with a distinct Stevie Winwood feel – with that electric piano it’s inescapable – it preserves that tone through later deceptively smooth soul stylings. Restrained brass swells, those electric piano stabs and a brilliantly offbeat chorus of backing vocals. The backing is so sweet it takes a minute for the painful lyric reflections to register – what’s at stake I can’t say but it’s more than just the vapours of unvarnished pride That same verse has the icing on the cake of a host of comforting ooh-ooh-ooh backing vocals, bringing you right into the realm of classic 60s girl group glory. It’s a low key pleasure this one but there’s a lovely slow burn quality to it that will get you through the rest of those April showers.

An extremely accomplished new collection from this Dublin four piece plying various strands of Americana to superb effect. ‘Nothing I do will ever be good enough’ is a version of the self-pitying country staple but with several beautiful arrangement flourishes to distinguish it – the wandering synth break, the wonderfully restrained steel guitar, the shakers as uplift to the chorus, even the fleeting detail of the treatment on the word “smoke”. ‘Waiting in the wings’ brings a neat stop start structure to a deceptively vicious little lyric which is satisfyingly full of spite and driven by ingenious piano octaves. ‘Moon tingles’ has something of the stately grace of Lambchop to it, although perhaps if Sufjan Stevens sat in on vocals. Fiddle, steel guitar and a sublime harmonica cameo fill out the edges gorgeously. ‘Union St Blues’ takes on the Sufjan thread, a dark night of the soul ballad given great propulsion by a rhythmic banjo riff and a silky backbeat and topped off...

A couple of great Thrill Jockey releases to kick off this week. Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler play Dublin soon when they'll presumably roll out some of these beautiful spiralling harp arpeggios (harpeggios?) with ambient electronic backing. And Circuit des Yeux is American Haley Fohr with a landmark singing voice. Speaking of great singers, Daniel Knox would make your heart melt. Arborist with Kim Deal on guest backing is another beauty. Virginia Wing with a wonderful post-Stereolab intervention, danceable. Lower Dens brilliantly smuggling unsettling observations into electro pop. Jean Jacques Perrey & David Chazam , a superbly playful addition to the Moog library genre. Colleen plays Cork next weekend, spacious dub explorations. And Rozi Plain (pic) with folk drones and kosmische synths which are glorious and uplifting. More on these pages. Apr 28 2015 w/ Circuit des Yeux,Arborist,Daniel Knox,Virginia Wing,Lower Dens,Polar Bear,Colleen++ by The Underg...

Classy and unfussy jazz grooves carried by a lovely supple double bass and hi hat heavy dropped snare beat. A pair of saxophones join in midway for extra propulsion entwining sensuously around the vocal refrain making a great accessible whole. That refrain is practically a mantra and you do feel it amounts to another inspiring message of hope from this special group.

An edgy synth arpeggio, woolly pitter patter bass and a genuine female croon. There’s a very 80s feel, presumably deliberate, perhaps to call up the paranoia and disenchantment of that decade. And despite the singalong chorus with a wash of comforting harmonies to soften the blow, there’s plenty of that here. Time will turn the tide It’s a far cry from the motorik insistence of the last album but in its own way just as insidiously intriguing and catchy as fuck.

We started this week with something wonderful from the new Tandem Felix EP, a Dublin band probing the space between Sufjan Stevens & Lambchop. Aldous Harding , also wondrous and touring Europe soon. Noveller is one woman Sarah Lipstate with an electric guitar making epic soundscapes. And some classic Ryuichi Sakamoto is always welcome. It's blubbery Burberry baby, big bottom swing big bottom, how much is the fish does the fish have chips - take your pick, a Stump refrain is the best refrain. Death & Vanilla play an intriguing brand of psych pop, Bjork in intense hyperballad mode and Kathryn Williams with something great based on the work of Sylvia Plath. Plus Robert Pollard x 2, any time's a good time for a double dose. More on these pages. Apr 21 2015 w/ Tandem Felix,Aldous HArding,Noveller,Ryuichi Sakamoto,Death & Vanilla,Bork,Stump++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every c...

Bright and breezy pop concoctions which we can call quirky and they rescue that word from oblivion by returning to the root, with a playful wide-eyed sense of adventure and a couldn’t give a fuck quality which is endearing all on its own. Then add the sheer weight of hooks and ideas, musical and lyrical. Here’s some background. The second album from UK/Japanese group Smile Down Upon Us is released by wiaiwya on deluxe vinyl, in a delightful gatefold sleeve designed by artist Yuji Maruyama, on Record Store Day, April 18 (a CD version is released in Japan soon after). It’s a delicate, intimate, playful record that’s equal parts Cibo Matte pop, Vernon Elliott soundtrack and animated Marc Chagall painting, its music a perfect navigation between childlike wonderment, impish eccentricity and sophisticated intricacy. Smile Down Upon Us is the duo of London-based multi-instrumentalist Keiron Phelan (littlebow, Phelan-Sheppard, Silver Servants, etc.) and Tokyo-resident singer/elec...