One Happy Island
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One Happy Island

Watertown, Massachusetts, United States | INDIE

Watertown, Massachusetts, United States | INDIE
Band Pop Alternative

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"live show review"

The day's biggest discovery was Boston's One Happy Island, who had some really winning songs with lots of interesting instrumentation, including kazoo, glockenspiel and ukulele, which at one point was played a distortion pedal. (That was a first.) Three of the four members sang, though they'd do well to feature the lovely voice of drummer Rebecca Mitchell. - Sound Bites NYC


"Secret Party EP Review"

One Happy Island's new EP, Secret Party That The Other Party Doesn't Know About, is so gloriously perfect. Lead track "Temporary Tattoo" is the cutest, catchiest thing I've heard all year since Strawberry Fair's "Why Won't He Answer." I try to not throw around the word "twee" too much, but geeeeeeeeez, if "Temporary Tattoo" isn't totally and amazingly twee as fuck, then I don't know what it is! The EP shines elsewhere though, too. I smile bright as the sun everytime the bridge comes along in "Earth's Circumference" – it's just too pretty for words. I highly suggest picking this up very soon-ish!!! This EP also marks WeePOP!'s very first vinyl release! Hooray! You can buy the 3" CDr now, or you can preorder the 7", which should be out very soon!! For now, listen to "Temporary Tattoo"!

[MP3]: One Happy Island :: Temporary Tattoo (Hiiiighly Recommended!!!)
- Scatterbrain


"So Happy Together - Boston Globe Feature"

"This playful and experimental troupe isn't all giggles and kazoo solos, though. Underneath the happy uke strumming and those polite boy-girl vocals, the lyrics add the sharpest reality bite." - Boston Globe


"Standard Fare Recommend One Happy Island"

(Interview w/ Standard Fare)
What’s your favorite album right now?
"It’s the new album by a band from Boston called One Happy Island. We covered one of their songs at a festival recently and I can’t stop listening to the new album."
- Spinner.com


"SoundsXP album review"

“Songs of innocence and experience, bubbly indiepop and bittersweet ballads, trumpets and kazoos, their self-titled debut is a joyful jumble of melodic indiepop that could make even Stephen Hawking get up and dance.”
- SoundsXP


"Erasing Clouds album review"

“The music itself is as imaginative and as direct. The album opens with a Sesame Street-like instrumental lark. As we continue on, there’s plenty of spunk and cuteness, but they can also execute a more raucous rave-up or a float-along mood…the band delights in melodies and in trying new things. They’re not just letting themselves fall for standard indie-pop tropes; they’re having a blast doing things their own way.”
- ErasingClouds.com


"God is in the TV album review"

“Any band that can write songs that make Belle and Sebastian sound like Leonard Cohen has a place in my heart. If you own one of them blood-pumping organs as well chances are they'll find a place in yours too.”
- God Is in the TV zine


"Side-Ponytail album review"

“…a delicate balance of happy, childlike songs and more sophisticated ones. I love ‘Elegant Elephant’ because of its upbeat rhymes and bouncy melody, but what really gets me is the way it’s juxtaposed against the softer, sadder ‘How to Hurt,’ a gorgeous, spare song that has bits and pieces that remind me of sad sixties girl ballads…”
- Side-Ponytail.blogspot.com


"Another Form of Relief album review"

“While other indiepop bands are content to wallow in their bedrooms, One Happy Island remember to bring the fun. Their entire album is so wonderfully ramshackle that it sounds like each song was thrown together on the spot and that everything could fall apart with a moment’s notice. All of which is a very good thing.”
- AnotherFormofRelief.com


"FensePost album review"

“…raw pop at its most upbeat and fun…they have a tendency to write somewhat silly songs that are infectious and brilliant.”
- FensePost.com


"Litomusic album review"

“…One Happy Island surprises us with this album that will surely be among the best of the year when it comes to an end.”
- Litomusic.com


"Athens66.com album review"

“So what are the magic ingredients to make a sweet lo-fi meets twee-pop band? Well, you'll definitely need a fun but cute name. You’ll also need all your band members to join in and sing along in most tracks. Some mellow tracks in-between the fun are a must as well. And of' course you must have the boy/girl harmonies to sweeten things up even more. Well, One Happy Island seem to have all those elements. It’s therefore no surprise that their self-titled debut is more than charming…I loved their album right from the start…Indie, twee, baroque...name it as you want, but One Happy Island sure got the pop.”
- Athens66.com


"Eardrums album review"

“The album shows the many sides of the band, from the calm and warm thoughtful songs to the fun circus-tunes with kazoos, ukuleles and brass-instruments…The album is so varied that it’s not easy to get tired of it, and at the same time it’s very consistent in a strange way…2010 has been an incredibly good year for indiepop so far, thanks to bands like Allo Darlin, The Lodger, The School, Dum Dum Girls, Math and Physics Club, Mittens, The Pains…, etc., etc., etc.,….and One Happy Island.”
- Eardrumsmusic.com


Discography

self-titled EP released 2007 (sold out)

pulaski park EP released on Weepop! Records (UK) in 2007 (sold out)

secret party that the other party doesn't know about on Weepop! Records (UK) in 2008 (CDs sold out, limited 7" record available)

rogue bat tour EP- self-released in 2009 (sold out)

maptacks- collection of the first 3 EPs, available through website. limited, numbered copies.

One Happy Island- self-titled full-length CD. Odd Box Records (UK), released July, 2010.

Standard Fare on One Happy Island- split 7" EP w/Standard Fare. Sheffield Phonographic Corporation (UK), released February 2011

Photos

Bio

One Happy Island is Shannon, Meghan, and Brad, three friends who delight in defying pop music conventions. Their intricately constructed songs reach the stage via gleefully ramshackle performances, making expressive use of toys and arcane instruments and joyfully disregarding pre-existing conceptions of structure, instrumentation, and leadership. Some of them have made music in bands most of their lives. Some of them have made music in bands for less than six months. Everybody sings, everybody writes. Their best shows feel like rehearsals. They aspire to move, baffle, and reveal, but are also happy to entertain.

Formed in 2008, One Happy Island has recorded a series of cherished, limited-edition EPs, two seven-inch vinyl singles (including a recent split with acclaimed UK outfit Standard Fare), and one full-length album. Enjoying particular/peculiar success overseas, their recordings have been released by such beloved UK independent record labels as WeePOP! Records, Oddbox Records, and Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation. They have just completed the recording of a new album, to be released this fall, which was performed entirely live in the studio without overdubs, headphones, or click-tracks. Just three people in a room making music.

“Bedroom pop at its loosest and sweetest.”
—Boston Metro

“If you’re not tempted to play it on repeat, you probably just
don’t get pop music in general.”
—RetroLofi

“The day’s biggest discovery [at NYC Popfest] was Boston’s One Happy Island, who had some really winning songs with lots of interesting instrumentation, including kazoo, glockenspiel and ukulele, which at one point was played a distortion pedal. (That was a first.)”
—Soundbites

“So gloriously perfect.” —Scatterbrain

“Underneath the happy uke strumming and polite boy-girl
vocals, the lyrics add the sharpest reality bite.”
—Boston Globe

Influences include: the lucksmiths, beach boys, cub, jens lekman, lonnie donegan, new pornographers, the besties, rose melberg, camera obscura, acid house kings, squeeze, marine research, everly brothers, the monkees, old hillbilly and stringband music, caetano veloso, and bikini kill.