When Happyness first burst into the public conscience with debut single ‘It’s On You’, their spirited take on US college rock was as big a surprise as it was an instant hit. The resulting full length, ‘Weird Little Birthday’, went on to feature in many End of Year album lists. Worldwide tours, an NME Award, a re-issue on the much-loved labels Moshi Moshi Recordings (Bar/None in US), and millions of Spotify plays later, it is now just a few short weeks until their long-awaited follow-up ‘Write In’ is released. Anyone pre-ordering the album will receive new track “Bigger Glass Less Full” as a free download. Pre-order the album HERE
Part-recorded at the band’s own Jelly Boy Studios, then finished with Adam Lasus in LA, Happyness shared some thoughts on ‘Bigger Glass Less Full’:
‘Bigger Glass’ started with an oblique strategy that we learnt from Terry Gilliam: apparently he made “Brazil” without ever reading 1984. We were trying to sound like a Pierre Cavalli song we’d heard once a very long time ago. It couldn’t sound less similar if we’d tried… We added the acoustics when we were in LA mixing with Adam Lasus – as of now the only thing we’ve ever recorded outside the UK.”
Once the band return from this year’s SXSW, they’ll head straight out on a headline UK tour, followed by European dates in May. Benji comments; “This tour is our first headline tour for a while now, and for the first time we’ll have two albums to play from, so we’re looking forward to it a lot. We’ve got a lot of expensive ideas for stage props that we probably won’t be able to realise by April.”
April 2017 UK / Ireland headline tour dates:
11 Fulford Arms, York
12 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
13 Picture House Social Club, Sheffield
14 The Cellar, Oxford
18 The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
19 The Louisiana, Bristol
20 Buyer’s Club, Liverpool
21 Whelan’s, Dublin, Ireland
22 The Hug & Pint, Glasgow
24 Think Tank, Newcastle
25 Gullivers, Manchester
26 Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
28 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London
30 Handmade Festival, Leicester
