Last weekend a friend sends me a whatsapp asking if I was going to go see Hatchie at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was the night before of the gig and I had no clue she was playing NYC. Sadly I had to say no. I would have loved to go. Before the pandemic I saw her when she opened for Alvvays. Now she was headlining. It is an amazing way how she has become more and more popular. Just remember her indiepop days with the superb Go Violets. A band that is still a favourite of mine.
Having to said no but at the same time wanting to go is not easy. I haven’t seen this friend in a while either. Before the pandemic too. But somehow having a kid needs me to plan in advance. Especially as he had been sleeping terribly the previous days. I couldn’t just leave with his mum.
Adapting to these situations is hard for me. I miss going to gigs so much. I just need to be on top of it. Know when someone I like is coming to NYC. And plan accordingly.
I wonder if you’ve been in my place. I guess many have. But isn’t it tough?
Mt. Misery: Hartlepool’s Mt. Misery is returning after about a year, since the release of their album “Once Home, No Longer”, with a digital single. “Spinning Top” is a lovely track, shiny and bright with tints of melancholy. There’s no other info about the song, but hopefully it will end up on a proper release in the future.
Peaness: I recommended the band’s song “IRL” not too long ago. Today is time to recommend’s the band album “World Full of Worry” even though it seems sold out everywhere. Wow. You wonder how they do it? So quick! The CD and two vinyl versions are sold out. It is clear that Chester’s Peaness are one of the most favourite bands out there for indiepopkids.
The Barking Aardvarks: okay, this is a fantastic discovery. This band’s album “Johnny Quest” was released back in 1988. I have never heard of them, but sounds amazing. 12 songs of pure pop! The band formed by Daniel Kathriner, Tom Vize and Patrick Conway, would be a band I’d love to write about on the blog. Other than that, I believe they hailed from the US. Please get in touch as I’d love to know more!
Buddhist Bubblegum: first time recommending a Slovenian band? I think so! This indie project from Ljubljana has surprised me. Their latest song “Merry-Go-Round” is really pretty. Their previous song, “Paper Ridges”, is as good if not better. The songs will bee part of the upcoming album “Dreaming of the Desert” that will be released by Cavern Brew Records. This is a two-man band, formed by Wiktor Szotowski and Maks Rozman.
Subterfuge: Düsseldorf’s Subterfuge has been recommended in the past. You know I like them. Their latest release came out in March. It was the band’s 5th album! It is titled “Dots.” and is now available on CD and vinyl. 12 songs of a nice mix of straight up indiepop, shoegazee and a bit of indierock thrown in there.
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Musbury is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. It lies approximately 2 miles (3 km) away from Colyton and 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) away from Axminster, the nearest towns. Musbury is served by the A358 road and lies on the route of the East Devon Way, a 40-mile (64 km) footpath following the Axe Valley. The village is within the East Devon Area of Natural Beauty. It has a post office, primary school, public house, fuel station and church. The parish population at the 2011 census was 543.
Musbury. That’s where we are heading today. Just tracked down the music by a band called Happyhouse that was around from 1989 to 1991. Not sure if in this town, but the Soundcloud account by Gerard Wood says that he is located in this place.
Who is Gerard Wood actually? Was he involved with other bands?
There is a collection of 14 demos he has put together by the band when he was still a teenager.
The tracks “Drifting in Your Heart”, “Just Like This”, “Tomorrow” and “One More Time” were from 1989 when he was still in school. He mentions that at this time there was no band. It was just himself, and that he had been listening a lot to The Cure’s “Faith”. “Tomorrow” was never played by the band live.
“Go”, “Calling” and “Get Away From You” date from early 1990. At this point he has a bassist called C. Griggs. These songs were recorded in Northampton. He mentions that these songs were heavily influenced by The Wedding Present’s “Brassneck” EP. The song “Go” was also never played live.
In 1991 he records “How I Feel” and “You Know”. These were recorded in Radford, Nottingham.
In early 1991 he records two songs with a full band. These were “Drifting in Your Heart” and “Just Like This”. They don’t sound like the previous demos as you’ll notice.
Lastly four more songs were recorded in mid-1991 and influenced by the sound of Slowdive. These songs were “Heavenly”, “Nothing”, “Churchsong” and “I Wish I Knew Why”.
“I Wish I Knew Why” also never ended up in the band’s live set. Gerard mentions that this song was a rip-off of Galaxy 500’s “When Will You Come Home”.
There are also on his Soundcloud a re-equalized version of “Calling”, a cover of Haircut 100’s “Surprise Me Again” and another song called “Spinning Jenny”. So a true trove of music here!
Now after looking at where he had recorded the songs I doubt he was based in Musbury in Devon. Radford is like almost 4 hours away. Northampton a bit closer. So probably the band was based somewhere in between Radford or Northampton… Leicester perhaps?
I couldn’t find any other info about the band. I do believe after looking at different websites that Gerard works these days for the Musbury Village council.
Well, that’s what I could find about Happyhouse. Hopefully someone remembers them and can fill in the blanks!
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Listen
Happyhouse – You Know
