Happy Birthday Celebrates Grunginess
This debut is bound to turn any birthday into a happy one.
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
Released on Mar 16, 2010
When solo artist Kyle Thomas was scheduled
to play a show in Vermont back in 2008, he was a bit too nervous to
grace the stage unaccompanied, so he asked two of his compañeros to help him out. They enjoyed collaborating on Kyle’s tunes
so much, they decided to stick together. The result—Happy Birthday.
This one-time gig turned into something worth reproducing, earning them
a record contract from the esteemed indie label Sub Pop.
Happy Birthday’s foremost self-titled album deeply resembles prior grunge and fuzz rock bands. The Kinks meet Neutral Milk Hotel sort of sound. “Girls FM” shoves you into my point. A fuzzy guitar riff scrambles along to this clear and at times nasally voice. The chorus grabs pop music fans by the genitals and refuses to let go. This chorus, even after a week of listening, has not left my head. The falsetto voice backing Thomas’ forms a relentlessly addictive tune. This song is a testament to the ability this band owns; to craft a concrete, yet obscure, pop song. A perfect fit for Sub Pop.
“Cracked” exposes their edge.
Thomas gives a fuzzy guitar march with aggressive lyrics. The
chorus resembles a dynamic and feral sound, resembling Death From Above
1979. The drums chug along with a simple, but complementing beat.
This provides a groove, an unrelenting groove, a mesmeric groove.
They play with dynamics in an affective way and end the song in the manner of cheap fireworks; expecting a lot and getting just a small pop. Grunge or fuzz rock does this to play into their experimental tendencies. This aspect of their music compensates because it keeps you guessing and keeps the music fresh.
“Perverted Girl” initiates with a soft and inviting guitar and vocal duo, joined in by drums and creates a pleasant tone. The chorus clashes in and the grunge reveals itself. After the chorus, it slides back to the soft guitar and vocals. The vocals create the impression of Thomas singing from down the hall. The tune caps off with the smooth nature in which it launched.
“Eyes Music” is a fun and creepy tune. Yeah I know, weird description, but it truly is fun and creepy. A tone meandering in his voice and followed closely with the guitar traverses the musical scales. Quite the original sound comes from the concept.
“I Want to Stay (I Run Away)” gives the perfect example of everything this band employs—the weirdness, the pop music, the grunge, the fuzz and so much more. The ethereal sound turns to a chorus of experimental and dissonant sound, marrying an acid trip with a hay ride.
One of the last tracks on this gem is the innuendo filled “Pink Strawberry Shake.” Do I need to say more? I will. The sexual lyrics conversely make the sweet sound come off as twisted.
These short tracks, all perfectly succinct, need nothing more. The half-hour album, on the other hand, always leaves listeners wanting more—especially when the half-hour rocks some new catchy sound. I want to become immersed, but the length prevents me.
High Point
Every track is worth having on this fun record and worth playing over and over.
Low Point
It might get played out quick, due to its petite length.
Posted by Daniel Wehrli on Mar 25, 2010 @ 7:00 am