Did I hear someone ask me what is happening in Indiana? Probably not but I'll tell you anyway. It would seem that good old fashioned pop songs have a new progenitor in Indiana pop punk band The Happy Thoughts.
Honestly, you can tire of oh so sensitive singer songwriters discovering themselves and you begin to crave the three minute pop song that, whilst maybe not a musical masterwork, encourages you to sing along and, yes, even smile. So it is with this band's self-titled album that mixes New York basement punk sound ("Back Of The Line" or "Hang Around") with pure bubblegum pop ("Anything But Love" or "Black and Blue"). Of course, it all that was on offer was hooks and melodies then there wouldn't be that much to write about but, in these days when singing Barbies and Kens are venerated, The Happy Thought's simple, good natured approach makes for a refreshing change and is one that harks back to days gone by without actually being obviously revisionist.
I'd tell you more about the band but all I really know is that they were originally called Eric and The Happy Thoughts and several of the songs on this album appear to have been released before on a variety of no doubt obscure labels.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the band's lo-fi roots, the sound quality won't win any prizes but the pressing (on translucent gold vinyl for the initial pressing run) was fine and the vinyl cut was by Lucky Mastering.