Customer Reviews

Happy Songs for Happy People

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Happy Music For Happy People" is perhaps a new dawn for Mogwai. Having almost completely abandoned their once trade mark slow creep to raging cacophany style, Mogwai opt for a 'wall of sound' steam-roller of guitars, drums and various other 'noise' producing instruments. First seeping into the listeners mind, then enveloping them in an almost narcotic haze, "Happy Music For Happy People" seeks to be the most seductive 'downer' album of all time.

The 'emotion' of this album is similar to that of Radiohead's masterpiece of inertiatic melancholy "Ok Computer". As the opening track "Hunted By A Freak" suggests there is a hint of paranoia in Mogwai's tunes these days. Infact it is best to think of "Happy Music For Happy People" as an entity or person with whom you are experiencing the world around. The early paranoia gives way to an insignificance as the album progresses, and if you close your eyes you can almost envision yourself walking through the streets of a town, the noise of life muted by sheets of rain, and the colours dimmed in a pervading mist of grey. Your destination is of no importance, rather the journey is thought provoking, no epiphanys, but an overwhelming sense of awareness of life. The music is awash in guitars that drizzle, snippets of vocals the flow like water down a drain, and they steady background plod of drums.

You are not going to play "Happy Music For Happy People" at a party, or as something to get the blood pumping too, well not unless you wish to sonically wither all listeners into a near catatonic state. This is music for headphones, an album to submerge yourself in when you are in an introspective mood wishing to be left in solitude. This a cohesive journey, a slice of emotional reflection that flows from song to song.

I will not say you are going to pick up this (or any Mogwai) album and be enthralled with what you hear. People who like songs that are well defined and get straight the point will find Mogwai boring. Though if your willing to simply listen and not care about the destination (or even moving at all) you might just find an album you will hold dear for many years to come.

Truth be told, I was getting a bit tired of radio hits and songs with singing. Not that I hate them, it's just a lot of them sounded alike: Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, end. After getting into Sigur Ros, I started to get more into this so-called "post rock" explosion and found my way to Mogwai. Well, this is what you call "headphone music", something where you can just put it on and let it envelop you as you close your eyes.

Hunted by a Freak: You know those moments in songs where you just wanna listen to that song again SOLELY to listen to that one part? This has it. It starts out nice and quiet with arpeggioed electric guitar then it kicks into a haunting vocal chorus. That part you ask? 2:49-3:27. Especially when they repeat that chorus for the 2nd time. Amazing stuff. 12/10

Moses I Ain't: Soft plaintive keyboard intro then is joined by a cello(?), and continues for 3 minutes. It's not really much of a song, really. 7.5/10

Kids Will be Skeletons: Neat little harmonic intro with subtle strings then a 2nd guitar comes in. Another relaxing song with a slow building crescendo 9/10

Killing all the Flies - Another relaxing intro with 2 guitars going on at once doing different lines, then this strange vocal comes in the background which changes another haunting vocals.(Get used to these, there's plenty of them here) which builds to a huge finale then quiets down. How's that for dynamics? 8.5/10

Boring Machines Disturb Sleep - Strange sci-fi like sounds open this song with low mixed vocals(whoa!). Kind of like Robot Chant or O I Sleep extended a couple minutes 8/10

Ratts of the Capital - Longest song on album. Very faint guitar riff then the drums and bass join in for a slow build up until a rather gorgeous little section. Lots of tempo changes. Can be seen as this album's centerpiece. 9/10

Golden Porsche - Very short(2:51) might as a nice melancholy feel to it. Again, another relaxing song, despite it being short. 8/10

I Know You Are but What Am I: A repeating piano key with a couple chords thrown in until a drum machine comes in almost 2 minutes later. Rather slow but definately not a throw away. 7.5/10

Stop Coming to My House: Quiet haunting beginning until halfway when it introducecs strange noises while maintaining a solemn background. This is like the equivalent of the aftermath of a car crash. Ends with this cartoon(yes I said cartoon) ending with kids and crazy music. 8/10

This was the first Mogwai I listened to so I can't compare it to the others but for a first timer, absolutely pleasant work

As I descend further and further into the bottomless hole that is music, I continue to unearth new and exciting artists the likes of which I could have never imagined existed. Mogawi is one of my finest discoveries yet, an amazing band that have the rare ability to craft beautiful songs that sound fresh and stimulate happiness.

Happy Songs for Happy People is my introduction to Mogwai, and what a first impression it has made upon me. For weeks I have stayed up late nights listening to this CD, totally entranced by its beauty. Happy Songs is a beautiful some what instrumental post-rock album with a very mellow and relaxed feel. melodies and guitar float in the air while solid percussion and string arrangments keep things grounded while exploring new heights at the same time. Listening to this album feels like cool autumn nights, my best dreams, and butterflies in my stomach all in one.

As cliche as it sounds, I can't describe the album in words, nor can I describe its beauty. See other reviews for detailed descriptions of Mogwais sound or songs on this album. I can't say any more than that this is a beautiful album, but that's really all that needs to be said.

Review in a nutshell: Happy Songs for Happy People is a lush, full musical experience that I can not get enough of.

Scottish experimental rock band, Mogwai, have been releasing albums in 1997, all to acclaim in indie rock, but their latest release, the sarcastically titled Happy Songs for Happy People, is getting the band attention from the mainstream press. The music on this album is brooding and striking, and the band is often associated with the Icelandic quarter, Sigur Ros. Yet, Mogwai's use of more conventional guitar playing, even including distortion in some of their songs, separates the two bands from imitating each other. Mogwai's guitar riffs are beautiful arpeggios, with almost unintelligible, garbled vocals in the background. Unlike Sigur Ros, Mogwai's albums are not layered in mystique. The titles are in English, yet their songs have bizarre and somewhat silly titles like "Killing All the Flies," "Kids Will Be Skeletons," and "I Know You Are But What Am I?" The music itself contradicts the titles themselves, since the guitars sound bittersweet and restrained, especially when accompanied by a synthesizer or a piano. Its intensity is visible on the first listen, except it is more subtle and beautiful than it is flagrant or aggressive. Some of the songs even border on unsettling, such as "Moses? I Amn't." It contains a droning synth bass that is haunting beyond belief, and the eeriness of the song intensifies tenfold when the string section (mostly consisting of a lone cello) enters. Happy Songs For Happy People is a fully consistent album, which defies the limited boundaries of rock music, and even "experimental" rock. Its magnificence is not compromised for inaccessible dissonance or for mainstream exploitation. Even at its heaviest, which is the final track "Stop Coming to my House," Happy Songs For Happy People remains sincere but arcane, relaxing yet overly stimulating, brief but lasting. Listening to this album is a "happy" experience, even at its most emotional.

i like to listen to this album at night when i am alone. it is a great album to just sit back and get lost in the moods of the music.... i often find my mind drifting between focusing on the music and my own thoughts. it isn't exactly "happy music for happy people" but it's not painfully depressing either.... it is music that might bring you down if you're happy, or bring you up if you're depressed.

one great thing about mogwai is that when you are alone it really enhances the enviroment you are in. i guess you have to listen to experience it, but there is nothing like a long walk at night listening to an album like this.

this isn't the kind of album i listen to everyday, but it is an album i will keep in my catalog for years to come.

out of 10, i'd give this album about an 8.5, therefore i highly recommend it.

Mogwai has created a masterpiece in this lush "Happy Songs For Happy People." Though the name may seem quite contradictory at first, over time the idea of it sinks in. This CD changes you in that every single note in it represents a moment in your life. The sweet sounds of it all just lulls the listener into a trance like state and captures every emotion. From the haunting sounds of the openning "Hunted By A Freak," creating that sensation of being lost and incomplete. But as the album progresses you can almost tangible feel the scenes it makes in the music so beautifully. The feeling of being lost transitions into anger as "Ratts of the Capital" climaxes and descends into the feelings of love take effect in "Golden Porsche" and the heart is finally captured in "I Know You, But What Am I?" Then finally in "Stop Coming To My House" a sense of wholeness hits and makes the listener feel at peace once and for all.

Listen to to this CD. It'll change your life.

If I had to use one word to describe this album it would be "Epic". This album has no lyrics. It is all instrumental rock that has an epic sound. I knew this band is ocming on tour wit The Cure so I wanted to know something about them before they arrived and I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed this album. The osund is very reminiscent of Radio head, that laid back, full flovored rock sound that makes you want to curl up and relax only this one has no lyrics. I highly recommend this album.

I believe so. In my eyes (and ears, more importantly), this is the most triumphant Mogwai release to date. Its the most mature, layered, and most well produced collection of material put out so far, really sounding more like a progression through sound as you listen, rather than just songs that seem to be randomly placed. The music served up this time around still possesses the dark yet warm mood through their songwriting, yet at times they shed a little light on a more pop sound, at least more than ever before. Its a lighter-sounding overall album, but still pull off what seems to be the most haunting music they've ever made. The sparse positioning of distorted vocals here and there really make for a great finishing touch on an already well-layered musical masterpiece. With this release, it only seems that Mogwai's best days are still ahead of them. This also seems like a good CD to start off with if you're a beginner, and want to expand your horizons with some more experimental musicianship. This is guaranteed not to disappoint.
For fans of: Godspeed You Black Emperor, Sigur Ros, Do Make Say Think, Radiohead, Explosions in the Sky, etc.

Mogwai's albums have often suffered in comparison to their EP's; the music seems to maintain it's focus better over a shorter release. Rock Action, Mogwai's last album was pretty much an EP, with only 9 tracks and 6 proper songs, the rest being short interludes. Well I think they have finally released an album that matches their EP's.

Happy Songs... is not a long album, but Mogwai maintain the intensity and beauty over it's whole length, without have to resort to those glorious noisy peaks of their early career. Happy songs... shares EP's habit of not being overtly loud and distorted. Instead the distortion is buried ala Rage:Man, and only Ratts Of The Capital really stretches out to over 5 minutes. But the rest of the album is all quality stuff; I'd say no filler. Kids Will Be Skeletons is one of the absolute beauties on this album, and is up there with Helicon 1 as one of my favourites.

Mogwai have not really changed their formula. They still start with a simple melody and embellish it until the song ends. What they have done is refine the formula away from crescendos to a more textured method; the songs seem to increase in mass, not just volume. Gladly, one thing that remains is the number of jawdropping moments, the ones that stop you in your tracks and send a shiver down your spine. While this is a more subdued Mogwai, they are no less fierce.

This album almost perfectly blends a number of instruments and ambient noises together to create an emotional mood that cannot be expressed in words. Even if you don't like the genre, I think it would be hard to say that the music doesn't touch you in some way or another. Mogwai's ability to blend some kind of an electronic, errie ghost-like voice with a guitar, drums and bass make you feel like you're in a musical trance. The flow of the music is beyond comprehension, it almost fits perfectly like a puzzle. These guys are amazing, and I highly recommend this cd to anyone who is familiar with the genre.