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It’s really great to be a music blogger. I get the chance to listen to a ridiculous amount of music that I would normally not have any clue existed. Sometimes it’s better that way, I mean there’s a lot of crap to sort though, but it’s definitely worth it to find the good stuff. Sometimes, though, the good stuff shows up in my mailbox unsolicited (bands: take note!). I mean my actual, real life, physical mailbox. Portland outfit A Happy Death emailed me and insisted upon sending me their 7? EP. I’d be stupid to pass up free vinyl. I’m grateful for their generosity and even more grateful that I don’t have to write fake praise.
The 4-track self-titled EP is an energetic, reverb soaked garage rock trip. Similar in style to, maybe, The Black Keys in their overdriven guitar sound based squarely in the tradition of blues and surf rock. More direct and tighter than the White Stripes, but in that same realm. Sometimes Ryan Lella’s vocals reminded me a bit of Jack White, but the band seems to be influenced more by older acts like Black Sabbath and The Kinks than anything else.
The garage aesthetic is front and center on “Nazi Zombies” with a dirty riff and vocals echo a bit in the back of the mix. Similar in this vein is “Surf Rock Band,” a track that stomps right on through to the end with a harmonized double guitar solo, each panned hard to either side, that is good and noisy. “Ghost House” picks up the pace a little bit, closing the EP on a strong track. My personal favorite is “Mr. Rutter,” a laid back, minor key ballad with a doo-wop swing and well placed vocal harmonies about a down on his luck transvestite factory worker. The tone of this track isn’t far removed from the rest but the clearer vocals push it a bit more towards the sound of MGMT and their “Congratulations” album that found them exploring the sounds of the early psych rock era mixed with a bit of Motown production. A Happy Death play off of those same vibes of psychedelia that are a little rougher around the edges.
A Happy Death has their sound down. From the guitar work to the reverb soaked vocals to the organ that perpetually toils away in the background adding to the atmosphere. This EP is the real deal and suggested listening for fans of garage and psych rock.
- Tympanogram
Beginning as just a glimmer in Ryan Lella’s eyes, A Happy Death manages to create a vintage, flower-power homage while still pioneering their modern sound. If their EP makes you want to dance and break shit (…which it will), just wait until you see them live. Their psychedelic tunes drip with reverb, making it nigh impossible not to feel groovy. Although the stoner-rock titans only have an EP out at the moment, they’ve got enough new material to overdose any music-addled mind. I had the opportunity to get chummy with frontman Ryan and drummer Mathieu Lewis-Rolland outside The Tonic Lounge. While freezing on the patio, we talked about their upcoming tour, Jawaiian music and strip clubs. Expect a new album from A Happy Death come January - Rip City Review
A Happy Death’s relentless gigging, unrestrained energy and vintage style has catapulted them through the past year and brought them some well-deserved attention in the Portland scene. Their songs are both catchy and chaotic; their style dark and riotous with a touch of noir. Keep an eye on these guys, their psychedelic sounds aren’t showing any signs of slowing down in 2013. - The Deli Magazine
The swirling, psychedelic garage-noir of A Happy Death is aptly named: It's dark, sure, but also an exciting, damn fun time. The Portland-by-way-of-New York quartet's nasty, gnarly jams go from stoned dirges to frenzied freakouts, covering all the gleefully deranged territory in between.” - The Portland Mercury
Discography
A Happy Death 7" EP - streaming online, played on fm radio
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Bio
In the midst of a sleazy, dark New York winter, A Happy Death formed to create a rock and roll death wish with the kind of vintage sound blast that will make ya mama go "OOOH!" and ya sister will too! Your girlfriends hike that skirt, and ya boyfriends say "SHHHIIIEEET!!!! I NEVER SEEN NOTHIN' LIKE IT, I'M GONNA BUY A SHIRT!!!"
Loud guitars, fast cars, and bath salts that'll eat your face make this wheel turn. Don't dig? Get real. The debut 7" Vinyl Ep, Will rock that face... It was cum-busted into exxxistence in the basement of a Ghost House. A Ghost House??? What tha fuck you say? It's a dirty place. It should burn.
In search of the legendary blade-wielding, mega-slayer, DEATH VAN known as Jean-Claude (aka- "Rapevanwinkle"), they moved across the country to Portland, Oregon. In this epic scaling of the video game "Oregon Trail" everyone of the band members fucking died and the game was over... (That's actually not true) Yet, in moving 3,500 miles from their hometown of New York, the band lost their original drummer to a neglected rattle snake bite. It was somewhere in the South Dakota Badlands and it was bound to happen to one of them. Way too reckless. Instead of a funeral, they picked up the meanest bastard they could find on the road and found out the hard way he could make a priest give up faith. This band may not have all the answers, but they will tell you how it stopped making sense.
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