The Underground of Happiness

A sublime debut album of ghostly folk songs capped off with the most extraordinary vocal harmonies from this Bristol band. It’s commonplace to refer to striking vocals and in fairness nothing helps a song to stand out more than a striking voice. The Nightjar certainly have that in lead singer Mo Kirby , but they also have Sarah Ricketts on back up (and bass) and the pair combine in a way that is startling to say the least. Look no further than the first two singles, ‘All objects will cease’ and ‘Warbrobe’. The harmonies chosen by Ricketts are at arms length from the standard seconds or thirds. They suggest a medieval or even more ancient connection, a dredging of the history of the species and the planet (there is a distinct historical feel to the album as a whole). The unexpected quality of the harmonies also underscores the slightly supernatural, post apocalyptic themes of the songs in ingenious fashion. They act like a shadow or a spirit slightly outside of the music. Ev...

There’s a compelling haunted atmosphere about this single from the Bristol band which suggests folk music brought out of its comfort zone and into touch with the devotional wing of classical music and the ambient avant garde. The arrangement is sparse to put it mildly – barely there guitar plucks, a hushed gong here and there, a low bass hum. But then the most startling vocal harmonies, recorded very close, crowd around turning a diverting melody into a chilling existential experience. The press release makes mention of “songs for the end of time” and there is an apocalyptic sense to the lyric – objects destroyed by fire, swallowed by the earth, watching them disappear. Let’s just call it all round wonderful and leave it at that.

The centrepiece of this week's show was the interview with Rozi Plain , recorded last month when she played with her band at The Kino in Cork (great gig). You'll find about 6 minutes of that chat in the middle of this set, the full interview will be up here soon in its own right. A couple of new obsessions. The Nightjar , a band from Bristol taking folk music into devotional classical music territory with a hint of the ambient avant garde too. Brilliant. Animals That Swim , a band from the 1990s who fell between Britpop and, I dunno, post punk. They are reissuing their 1994 album Workshy on One Little Indian and it has some wonderful tunes on it - rushes of guitar, and intelligent, literate lyricism. The Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble , a wonderful swinging tune with Brazilian undertones, ahead of European tour in April. Wonderbar. And Iggy Pop back guesting with Manchester band PINS , more spoken word - I think he should do more of that. More on these pag...

New music from The Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble which is wonderful news and a joyous uplifting South American sound. Wymond Miles was someone who caught me at the end of the year, a glorious cosmic soul cut. The Nightjar are from Bristol and ostensibly deal in a folk style, although their haunted ambient atnospherics make it a whole lot more interesting than that might sound. Brigid Mae Power plays Quarter Block Party in Cork soon. C Duncan on tour in UK. A marvellous Lift To Experience reissue/remix. And the spellbinding coup de grace from Weyes Blood who is back in Europe this spring. 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 430 Tues Jan 17 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 he...