Album Review: Happy Abandon Make You Want To Put On Your “Facepaint”
I love new artists. It is like they are the fresh car smell of music (lol!). They bring about an excitement through their newness and untouched fabrics of sound. This week Happy Abandon make their debut, and show Chapel Hill, North Carolina has some seriously cool indie-rock or, rather, orchestral indie rock.
Rushing strings, dreamy whistles, and fiery howls are the three-steps Happy Abandon’s claim to use to create their sound. This could explain why they make indie-rock feel epic rather than its usual minimalistic moodiness. For all the synths and keys indie-rockers press to push their sound, the idea of indie-rock purveys through a sense of bareness; as if it aim to be more vulnerable and quieter than its older brother, Rock N’ Roll. Yet, Happy Abandon define bigger sounds as fuller, which is why tracks like, “Beneath Our Feet”, “Choice”, and “Heavy Lines” are lessons on the many ways you can make a music feel stripped while clothing it with multiple instrumentals. For however layered their sound is in songs “Heavy Lines” and “Ivory Bound”, you still get the feeling of lightness. Yet, percussions, woodwinds, and mandolins do have that “enlightening” effect on people. It is as if lightning itself struck in tracks “If I Stare” or “Take Me” to bring forth a thunderously light music that shows naturalizing soundscapes can feel big through seeming vast. Moreover, with lyrics that focus on wanting to be “chosen” , Happy Abandon has targeted a good theme for their sound.
Every human being has had a moment where they wish “the girl” or “the boy” picked them to to give their heart to, or dreams “the boss” chose them for the job. We all have have instances where we felt like, had we been picked by a higher power, we would have risen to a higher state of being/ occasion. Facepaint seems to, symbolically, hone the times we spend painting our faces to be seen; only to be glossed over. Tracks like, “Stop Taking Care of Me”, “Love Like Language”, or “Cursed or Worse” feel lyrically potent because their arrangements have such a powerful scope. You truly cannot box them in as “concrete” sound, which makes them unique. Lead singer Peter Vance has the same, “good issue”. His voice is distinct because it has captured vulnerability, and held it emotionally hostage in how he etches, eases, and tenses his lyrics. Every time Vance sings, you feel as if he is opening his eyes to the world, and re-discovering what it is to be sentient. His ability to make lyrics sound fresh in feelings is what further amps that these Chapel Hill natives are going to globally dominate the indie rock scene. To Buy Facepaint On August 25 And Learn More About Happy Abandon Click Here.
