| Reviews Happy Family (1995) [CD - Cuneiform Records - Rune 73 - 1995] Originally published in Reels of Dreams Unrolled No. 12, March 10, 2001 If you have still not heard anything from this band, than it’s high-time you allowed yourself the pleasure. Happy Family consists of seven instrumental tracks, ranging from the one-and-a-half minute piece "Drums Whisper Spacy" to the nineteen-minute "Naked King." All of these tunes, with the exception of two, were written by keyboardist Kenichi Morimoto. Unlike a lot of bands, though, this does not mean that Happy Family is dominated by one instrument — all four musicians are equally represented on these recordings, and they all can play. Happy Family is considered by many to be one of the foremost representatives of progressive rock in Japan, and they are generally described as followers of the zeuhl style of music. Don’t let that fool you into expecting a Magma spin-off, however, as the songs on this album sound only a little like the music of Magma, Weidorje, and the like. What is common, though, is the energy, the chaos, the overwhelming drive of the bass guitar (in this case, courtesy of Tastuya Miyamo), the almost insane drumming (Keiichi Nagase doing the honors), and the total lack of conformity to what are generally accepted musical rules and conventions. It’s really a difficult task to describe what you would hear listening to the entire album. There are songs of incredible speed and energy. The first track, "Rock and Young," is six-and-a-half minutes of intensity that never lets up. There are also songs where the tempo is certainly slower, but the energy nonetheless remains. The longest track is mainly a slower song, with a fanfare-like intro and a long buildup, yet even then it is full of intensity. The buildup has the feel of a slow march, the bass and drums providing straight accents while the guitar and keyboard (joined later by the bass) begin to play a quirky melody. This gets faster and more difficult as the song progresses until it erupts into a drum/guitar duet. The guitar plays strange melodies and rhythms while the drums echo along perfectly, note for note, as if they weren’t difficult enough for one person to play, let alone two. From there it gets almost funky, and then, well, you get the idea. There’s no predicting anything you’re going to hear on this album. Even when Happy Family seems to be playing "regular" music, they’re really not. Track 5, "Kaiten (Ningen Gyorai)," by all accounts seems to be a relatively straight-forward piece. After a guitar-laden intro, the band breaks into one of its steadier time signatures —which remains for a good portion of the entire song — and it seems that Happy Family is about to play a song that would be accessible to the masses, or at least a larger portion of the enlightened. This song even has recognizable sections! That’s when Miyano brings his bass guitar out front and the Magma-esque tendencies become clear. Janik Top himself would be proud, because the power that emits from the bass, while present throughout the whole album, really comes through and shines on this track, and it truly is inspiring. He swoops, he soars, he crunches. If you yourself play the four-string or any derivation of it, this song needs to be in your collection. There are so many good things that could be said about this album, but it can all be summed up into one thing: This is a great album. If you like your music energetic, fast, noisy and intense — this is an album for you. - Chuck Hamilton [March 2001] Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info Töscco (1997) [CD - Cuneiform Records - Rune 93 - 1997] Originally published in Reels of Dreams Unrolled No. 3, July 21, 1997 After to long a wait, it's finally here, the new Happy Family. It's called Töscco and man, does it kick the proverbial prog booty. The musicianship is up, the writing is up, the maturity level is up and the energy level is way up (if that's possible) from their first effort. Happy Family is a four-piece consisting of keys, guitars, bass and drums, your average rock band right? WRONG. The compositions are so tight and the playing is so powerful that I actually needed a glass of ice water and a cold compress after I listened to it the first time. Delving into the songs themselves, most are in the four to six-minute range with two clocking in at over 11 minutes. The disc opens up with "The Great Man". This song starts serenely enough with a pretty little tune played on a keyboard but then it hits you in the face. Drums, bass and guitar all converge into a heavy droning rhythm, basically setting the stage for what is to come. The next two, "Overdrive Locomotive" and "Nord Company vs. Lead Company" are examples of what HF does best, combining tight, angular arrangements with an amazing sense of dynamics to create a powerhouse of sound. Driving rhythm guitar augmented with acoustic piano (probably done on synth) ala Univers Zero leads into a nice bass section utilizing harp harmonics on "Overdrive Locomotive". This sets you up for the climax of the song where you get the heat turned up by the guitar and organ pounding out power chords and the staccato drums punctuating the proceedings just to drive their point home. The fourth song, "Filial Piety At The Dawn" seems to be a change of pace, with its quirky melody in the beginning and weird counterpoint between the bass, guitar and drums. Another great Japanese band called Tipographica comes to mind, with their impossible to play arrangements and off-kilter rhythms. All this gets thrown out the window though as the song approaches its exciting end with the melodies breaking down to be replaced by a world of chaos. The next song, called "The Sushi Bar" is one of the long cuts. It starts off slow, reminding one of the great Belgian band Present with its throbbing bass and mournful melody, but in true HF fashion this solitude (if you can call it that) is blown away by the wails of a screaming synth. This leads into one of their rare 4/4 excursions that rocks and rolls with the best of them. Here the keys take on a tuned percussion role while being doubled by guitar. Eventually thick driving bass and manic over the top drumming come in. There is even spacey synth bubbling going on to add to the intensity. Up until now the disc has basically been an ensemble affair but now we have a biting guitar lead that comes out of nowhere making me feel like I'm hyper-ventilating. The song finally resolves with a reprise of the beginning section with the bass carrying the melody. Phew!!!! The next cut is called "He is Comming at Tokyo Station," and here again we have the Tipograpica feel. This one is heavily orchestrated and interspersed with buzz-saw guitar freak outs. Next up is "The Picture Book". A true ensemble effort, this one is probably my favorite on the disc. There is a loose jazzy feel to parts of this, hell, it acutally almosts swings...if it didn't mutate into a dark Bartok-inspired jam. Now would probably be a good time to mention the drumming on this disc. Lets just say it's non stop, over-the-top mayhem in the heavy parts and minimialistic percussive driven during the more sensative moments. But don't get me wrong, HF is anything but sensative. This fact is proven in the second of the long songs called "The Three Leaves Insect". Starting off with a slow, plodding melody, it cuts into a chamber section not unlike another Japanese band called Lacrymosa, only heavier then they ever were. This leads into a frantic guitar-driven jam, and as all hell is let loose, the keys, bass and drums join in creating a maelstrom of sound. Eventually the ensemble pulls itself together to play one of those charts from the Henry Cow impossible-to-play school. The piece ends with a reprise of the beginning, notable here is the tortured bass sound, reminicient of the French band Shub Niggurath. The final cut is a short, one-minute revisitation of the first song done on acoustic guitar and accordion (???). It goes out innocently enough, but there not fooling anyone...Happy Family is a far cry from innocence. If you like your music intense, neurotic, complex, loud yet intelligent, this band is for you. I know this has been said many times before but this one is definitely not for the faint of heart. Get it and play it loud. - Mike Eisenberg [July 1997] Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info