The
question of the song’s title reflects the songwriting directness. It is a
hallmark of AV Super Sunshine’s songwriting. They are notable for their ability
and willingness to balance a need for self-expression, their first priority,
with an obvious passion for delivering musical art to audiences eager for their
contributions. Numerous outlets, other musicians, and reviewers laud their
talents on a frequent basis and with ample justification. AV Super Sunshine
releases “Are You Happy?” in three different mixes. The radio mix leads the way
and arguably is the most mainstream version of the song, albeit longer than the
rock mix, but the radio mix gears the song in a more modern commercial
direction thanks to how they bring together electronic and live instruments
together in a dense, yet intensely musical, performance.
They
include a strong, yet simple, melody in the radio mix. A clear synth line
carries the melody without ever sidelining other musical parts and its la of a
heavy footprint proves one of the best decisions AV Super Sunshine makes in
developing this song. It juxtaposes well against the rugged guitar parts and
crisp drumming adding fills to the track. However, it isn’t a mix plunging
straight ahead towards the song’s inevitable conclusion. They change gears at
certain points scattered throughout the song and this design reveals just how
much they know, as songwriters, about song construction. Strip this mix of its
electronic factors and effects and it still works.
The same holds true for the vocals. The lead
vocal shows listeners the way, for the most part, but there are crucial backing
vocal contributions from band member Philomena along the way reaching their
zenith with the song’s chorus and bridge. AV Super Sunshine does a superb job
marrying the vocals with the radio mix musical arrangement and they play off
each other in a way certain to ensnare new fans and keep them coming back for
more.
The club mix of the song has a near epic
duration of over six minutes, but it never tests listener’s patience. AV Super
Sunshine develop this take on the song with much more patience and deliberation
than we hear in the alternate versions and the synth melody present in the
radio mix takes a little longer to announce itself. The rock mix, however, is
punchy and makes its point with a minimum of fuss.
This is AV Super Sunshine stripped clean of
any musical trickery and performing the track with palpable love for the rock
style. Synths are missing from the rock mix, but there are keyboards present
bringing more musical color to the song. The vocals are a highlight here,
especially Philomena’s contributions to the song. If the remaining songs on Candyland
Vol. 1 exhibit the same creativity and boundless inspiration as “Are You
Happy?” we are in for a real treat when we have the opportunity to hear the
album in full. The laurel leaves and fulsome praise greeting each new release
is far from hype; instead, I read it as evidence of a band on the rise.
Joshua Beach
No comments:
Post a Comment