You sometimes wonder just what happens to all these talented songwriters and musicians when their bands are no more. Sure, some forge solo careers, but most seem to vanish completely, occasionally to be heard of again involved in the management or production side of things. You can't help but think though, there's a big waste of the talent that created some truly great music, and this will in part be down to the press wanted to focus on discovering the next big things, because that's far cooler than investigating the new project of a musician whose band you'd already given that hype to a few years previous. They're not cool, they're ignored by the mainstream press, and this must be hugely disheartening, not to mention the music that's going to waste.
It's been over a decade since shoegaze/post-rock band Bowery Electric breathed their final breath, but Lawrence Chandler is back with a new project, and this time his muse is Lucia Rivero. The good news in this instance is that Happy Families are picking up plenty of blog action, if not yet being embraced by the mainstream press. That said, they're not a mainstream band. Debut single 'New Forgetting' is at the raw end of shoegaze and crosses over into abrasive fuzz-rock. The song is almost crushed under the weight of distortion to the point where it doesn't quite seem in tune anymore, and this, rather than being detrimental, is actually what makes the song stand out. It's willfully uncommercial, and if they'd wanted they could have made this a much smoother ride, but that would be bowing down to the masses and going against the idea for the song. So top marks to Happy Families for sticking to their guns. Let's hope they generate enough interest to stick with us for a few more releases yet.
Happy Families' website
Buy the single
Catch them live:
Jul 13: Happy Families - East End Live Festival, London
Jul 15 Happy Families - The Social - Free entry!
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