Happyness Celebrate At The Electrowerkz
Published
In June I was feeling pretty miserable. Lying in a hospital bed somewhere along the Kings Road, both bored and reflective, alone. I certainly didn’t need more Radiohead, sombre and beautiful though it is, neither did I want the new champions of Radio 1 rock, Royal Blood, to hammer my mind into shape.
Instead I came across Happyness both literally and figuratively. Their fuzzy, horizontal style lulled me into calm and their humour turned the edges of my mouth. Happyness isn’t weary or sad but neither are they packed with energy. After what’s been a hectic release schedule over the last few months, first with the album ‘Weird Little Birthday’ followed by the ‘Anything I Do Is Alright – EP’ Happyness return to the UK with the buzz on their backs.
This week was their first headline show at Electrowerkz with support from Bison Bonasus and The Magic Gang. The Magic Gang, from Brighton, a bouncy 4 piece that’s retro sound reminded me of the Kinks, but with more oomph. Their lead guitarist set them apart with his dirty, broken guitar lines that’s style was similar to Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood, he even looked quite a bit like him.
Each song was a little predictable, choruses led by an impending crescendo and verse sections that weren’t that memorable. Great fun none the less. Alternating between dreamy progressive sections led by the two keyboard players and harder groovy parts led by the rhythm section, Bison Bonasus are a great example of fusion music that is exciting and doesn’t get lost in overindulgence.
Quirky chords and lines by the guitar held down some of the weirder sections, stopping you from getting lost. Their lead singer’s ridged, moody presence was enhanced by the unpredictability of his actions. Screaming at the crowd one minute and singing the next, he was somewhere between Brandon Flowers and Ian Curtis.
Bison Bonasus have only the one song out at the moment, which does little justice to their potential.
A birthday cake is placed in the middle of the stage with a mocking statue of Jesus Christ at the side. The trio wander up and without any urgency greet the crowd. Explaining they never get to play music off the album enough, because they don’t get the time slot, tonight they are going to indulge a bit more.
Much like the album, the set list drifts from skuzzy head nodding rock, like ‘Anything I Do Is Alright’ and ‘Refrigerate Her’ to the sunny rollers, which I think is where the bands real charm lies. Songs like ‘Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste The Same’ and ‘Naked Patients’ can’t help but make you smile with their lazy tangents and tongue in cheek lyrics.
In talking with the crowd they are confident but pretty dry, quipping at the contrived nature of the bands birthday celebrations and the cake in front of them. Finishing up with an encore of ‘Don’t Know Why’ by Norah Jones and ‘It’s On You’, their brightest track.
Finally a band that doesn’t want me to bang my head, or get deep and emotional, they want to chill on my couch and have a laugh. A great evening at Electrowerkz showing the potential of a new wave of rock that is bubbling underneath the surface.
Words by Josh Gray
