SLC Pop!

I have a correspondent, a teacher in Texas, who has sent me some to the coolest, funnest music on the planet. We met at Eschaton, during a conversation in which Atrios asked, "what are the records you go back to again and again?" I noted two Shoes' CDs: Present Tense and Propeller. (These are also available on itunes and emusic, for those of you who need your fix RIGHT FREAKING NOW!) Immediately, I got an email from Mike: we Shoes fans love a fellow traveller. We've been trading songs ever since.

So his most recent email was "If" from Salt Lake City powerpoppers The Happies, whose complete first album is available for free download here, and whose second album--If We Were Really Here--came out last winter. You can hear myspace tunes here.





I love this stuff. Mike's email had a subject line, "Shoesy?" and I replied, "YES!!!" because I'm a geek and get excited about these sorts of things.

Here's one reasonable description:

If rock bands in the mid ‘90s were playing pop songs from the late ’60s, The Happies’ new record, If We Were Really Here, would be leading the pack. It sounds like Jason Lytle of Grandaddy singing for Fountains of Wayne in a Stereolab tribute band playing at Stephen Malkmus’s birthday party. The members of The Happies have created a way to collect the best parts of the best bands and fashion their own sweet-tempered pop songs.

It's a little gooey, a little contemplative, and a lot of yummy. Enjoy!