Happy Hearts＜Yellow Vinyl＞

USオルタナ/ローファイの重鎮JAD FAIRとアイオワ州出身のシンガー・ソングライターSAMUEL LOCKE WARDによる初のコラボアルバムがKILL ROCK STARSよりリリース!
JAD FAIRによる『2021年の1年間に100枚のアルバムを完成させる』というマラソン企画で出会った2人は、毎週1曲ずつレコーディングし、バブルガムシンセから気まぐれなノイズロックまで多彩な楽曲を作り出しました。最も普遍的なテーマである『愛』をテーマにしたという今作。JADFAIRの一度聴いたら忘れられない声とユニークな歌詞に彩られ、最高にピュア&ハッピーでポジティブなアルバムに仕上がっています!

Jad Fair has always been wildly prolific, ever since he started making noise with his brother David as Half Japanese during the mid-70s -- the group infamously released a triple-LP box set as their debut album. Even by Jads standards, however, he went into overdrive during the early 2020s. Starting at the tail end of 2020, he recorded and digitally released more than 150 albums of original material over the course of a year and a half, ranging from synth experiments to a cappella works, and covering all of his favorite subjects many times over (monsters, UFOs, sweet things, and pure happiness). During that exhausting run, he was contacted by Samuel Locke Ward, a home taper from Iowa whose songwriting and D.I.Y. aesthetic is clearly inspired by people like Jad and Daniel Johnston, asking if the two could remotely work on music together. Once Jad wasnt so busy, the two began making one song per week. Happy Hearts, the first product of their collaboration, appeared on Kill Rock Stars in 2023. The album covers much the same territory as Half Japaneses run of comeback albums from 2014 to 2020 (the last of which was similarly titled Crazy Hearts). Jad simply will not give up his positive spirit, and his lyrics are words of relentless encouragement and kindness, assuring the listener that everything will turn out right and that its important to keep working towards ones dreams. Locke Wards backing tracks cover a wide variety of styles, and he has enough energy to make it seem like Jad is fronting a full band again. Starting with the layered choral vocals of the brief intro "I Have a Feeling," the album includes rollicking punk tunes ("Fate Is on Our Side," "The Bluebird") as well as songs inspired by early rock and roll/doo wop ("Happy Heart," "Over My Head") and Motown ("Love Is in Charge"). "Us" and "I Wrote a Poem" are slow, nearly shoegazey grunge tunes, "Donuts" is an offbeat folkish song about sugary baked goods solving all the worlds problems, and "Dream Come True" is a surprising detour into vocoder-laced new wave. Happy Hearts is the most rocking and diverse-sounding album Jad has released in some time, so its clear that having a fresh collaborative partner does a great deal of help. That said, Jad simply does what hes been doing for ages. While his work ethic and his impact on independent music culture are truly inspirational, much of his latter-day recorded output is merely amusing rather than outstanding, and Happy Hearts doesnt add up to much more than just another pleasant Jad Fair record. ~ Paul Simpson