Band: Happy Accidents
Album: Everything But The Here and Now
Label: Alcopop!
Release date: 16 February
Sounds like: indie-dream-punk-sunshine
The joyful and raucous noise of Happy Accidents is the kind of adrenaline shot we all need at the moment in these testing times. Hailing from the big smoke, this London trio comprised of Rich (guitar & vocals), Neil (bass) and Phoebe (drums & vocals) have crafted an album that will pique the interest of those involved in the dizzying fracture of the DIY punk rock scene.
The double A-side single, Wait It Out and A Better Plan both have “absolute stone-cold bangers” scrawled all over them in jagged, splattered spray paint. The former, a punchy uppercut of hook-drenched, dual-vocal punk rock, drips with wistful charm and crunching, rolling riffs. Meanwhile, the latter, in the form of A Better Plan, is a scuzzy, indie-rock number that has traces of the huge, fuzzing choruses of The Thermals (circa The Body, The Blood, The Machine, so you know it’s fucking great) and it’s a fist-pump of elated, fizzling, comforting energy, coupled with co-vocalist Phoebe’s soothing, dream-like vocal delivery. Bloody hell, this makes me want to stick on Returning To The Fold right now.
Is it possible to fall in love with a chorus? Yeah I reckon so. Take Act Naturally, a song that ends far too quickly just as it gets going (that means you slam it on again, right?) As the vocals slowly build and overlap in the song’s growing and evolving final chorus, you kind of wish it would go on longer, the teases. The weaving vocal interplay between guitarist Rich and drummer Phoebe complement each other superbly, whilst Neil’s steadfast bass keeps this upbeat and pulsating blast of Johnny Foreigner-esque pop-rock rumbling forward. This kind of brilliant vocal-back-and-forth is present on the bouncing-pop of the smiling Free Time, which grows into this blazing wall of sound, before abruptly cutting off before the feedback begins to shred the airwaves to bits. Happy Accidents know the score, there’s no messing around here – Everything But The Here And Now channels a direct, no-bullshit rush of tunes that never outstay their welcome and warm the heart.
Unwind is the best post-Weezer-turning-shit-song that Weezer never fucking wrote. It’s completely sublime, huge, fuzzy guitars, gorgeous backing vocal crooning, rumbling drum patterns and that slow-burn hum of completely lightness and elation of a warm summer’s day. Crack open a beer and drain it dry, this is the kind of fist-in-the-air anthem of slacker-rock that deserves your undivided attention immediately.
The soft melody of the atmospheric Text Me When Your Home exudes the dream-pop vibe of this three piece perfectly, from the noisy burst of maudlin guitars and crashing drums to Pheobe’s lead vocals talking of “walking home with headphones blaring…” it ends with another heady blast of distorted noise, book-ending the almost spoken word tale within. Even the guitars on the wistful Maybe Tomorrow sound nostalgic – how is that even possible? The wanting to stay together, the looking back at a friendship, it feels so equally melancholic but bursts with ardent love.
Constructing something with as much heart as the songs on Everything But The Here and Now is no easy task. Happy Accidents have crafted a delightful collection of positive and life-affirming songs that shimmer and equally, roar with gusto and crackle with life – superb.
Stream/download Everything But The Here and Now by Happy Accidents below or order from Alcopop! Records.
Top tracks: Act Naturally, A Better Plan, Text Me When Your Home
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Junior Vice President of Keep It Fast. In other news: I work in social media, talk about dinosaurs, run a book club and have amazing facial hair. I am also a male man who is still not dead.
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