Happily Ever Blind ‘Good Enough For…’ Album Review By Adam McCann
Realm Records/2019/Alternative
What happens when an Australian decides to up-sticks and move 5000 miles across the globe, traversing hemispheres and settling in Helsinki, Finland? The answer is Happily Ever Blind, the musical baby of John Emslie, who got bored of playing Aussie Outback bars and exchanged it for the land of ice and snow. Now, is the mixing of Aussie boogie and Finnish melancholy going to sound like AC/DC needs Prozac? The answer is no, Happily Ever Blind have all the punk integrity of Hanoi Rocks combined with the odd avant-garde vocal delivery of late 70’s/early 80’s new wave scene that encompassed the likes of Talking Heads and The B-52’s which can be seen in no better place than the band’s latest EP ‘Good Enough For…’.
Initially, ‘Good Enough For…’ is a little difficult to appreciate, the vocals are quite unique they are raw and blur the line between what is in and out of tune and this gives the band a sound that is unexpected. Soon, with multiple listens ‘Good Enough For…’ becomes such an endearing release that it becomes fun, enjoyable and allows itself to be coveted, lending itself to be your secret band that only you know about because with Happily Ever Blind, they give the listener the feeling that they’re making this music exclusively for the person. Due to this, ‘Good Enough For…’ has all the emotional integrity offered from Nirvana, easily able to blend quiet/loud dynamics into an enjoyable heavy rock groove, laden with hooks and powerful melodies that can be seen during ‘Stop Motion Men’, ‘Bad Joke’ and ‘Prisoner Of The Clouds’.
Once this appreciation is gained, ‘Good Enough For…’ is an album which shows a maturation, it shows Happily Ever Blind moving away from a frantic distorted punk sound, to one which is much more refined, mature and accessible sound which sets Happily Ever Blind perfectly for a great breakthrough full-length album.
Rating : 80/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
