You Might Be Happy Someday＜限定盤＞

Anyone longing for the return of the mid-period of Sarah Records -- during which bands like Brighter and Blueboy released singles and albums that had all the melodic beauty of the labels early releases but also a slightly slicker, super-jangly sound -- should be happy about the Red, Pinks and Purples and their second album, You Might Be Happy Someday. Run by Glenn Donaldson -- whos made fine records with the Skygreen Leopards and various other projects like the Art Museums -- the band make music that sounds like it could have been airmailed through the space-time continuum to arrive with nary a scuff. Donaldson recorded the songs by himself for the most part, taking over part of his kitchen to lay down a note-perfect blend of ringing rhythm guitars, reverb-heavy leads, pulsing bass, carefully programmed drums, and subtle synths into which he inserts his deep and openhearted vocals. Its an instantly recognizable, immediately lovable sound that conjures the past intensely while also sounding fresh thanks to the sharply honed hooks and torn-from-the-diary lyrics. Donaldson doesnt hold back much emotionally, but also doesnt wallow in melancholy. Hes just as apt to offer comfort to a friend in need (Your Parents Were Wrong About You) as he is to lament his own bittersweet sadness (Last Summer in a Rented Room). He also does that nice trick of making the bummer songs feel sunnier thanks to choruses that are sure to stick for days (Desperate Parties, Half-a-Shadow). Donaldson has been making music for a long time with fine albums in his CV; this might be the best one of them all. From the title of the album to the artwork, the painstaking layering of the guitars to the machine pulse of the drums, the skyscraping guitar leads to the way Donaldsons voice breaks a little when he starts feeling it, You Might Be Happy Someday is pure indie pop at its finest. It balances comfortingly sweet melodies and heartbreakingly real sentiments with gentleness and care not often heard since the heyday of Sarah. ~ Tim Sendra