Fans of The Sunshine Fix, Flaming Lips, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control and the whole idea of doing Side 2 of "Abbey Road" by indie-rock-pop kids will love Happy Bullets` "The Vice And Virtue Ministry", as do we! In fact, a lot of this sounds like a sort like a love child between the Beatles, The Elephant Six Pop Collective and They Might Be Giants! "Where is the loyal psychedelic pop lover to find his or her next catchy goodness? Try Dallas, Texas. Texans the Happy Bullets churn out excellent pop music worthy of Elephant Six (hell, it`s better than anything that group has released
recently) or the British Invasion. Writing about the bourgeoisie and rifle companies, the Happy Bullets conjure images of posh English country sides and colonial America. In their attempt to compete with the Flaming Lips for the trippiest, longest semi-science fiction song title ever, they include "A Momentary Vision of the End of the World as Seen Through the Eyes of a Suburban Housewife". This is pop music as God intended. It`s infectious. It`s psychedelic at times. And boy is it good.. we`re left with songs that teeter between nauseating and exhilarating. The fine line is masterfully straddled by the Happy Bullets. The Vice and Virtue Ministry closes appropriately with "Good Day!", a track dedicated to making the coming 24 hours pleasant. It sums up the album perfectly. Trudging along in your boring life with your boring job and insufferable significant other, the Happy Bullets are dedicated to making your day a pleasant one. All you have to do it start up the CD player and live amongst Big Ben and the Tower of London. "-PopMatters. "Thoroughly embodies some key Kinksian vibe that if (Ray) Davies had come of age in the `00s rather than the `60s his band I think would sound something very much like this."-Fingertips. AMG, as always, says it all so very well w/ this 4 star review: "It sometimes seems that every developing indie rock band can be defined by its affection for the music of one of the middle years of the 1960s -- the jangle poppers go for 1965, the garage rockers for 1966, and so on. By that standard, the Dallas, TX, band the Happy Bullets` favorite year of the `60s clearly is 1967, the era of the Beatles` Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the birth of psychedelic and progressive rock. But so much time and so many other bands have passed across the scene since then that one is tempted to cite as influences not so much the Beatles and their like (the Kinks, the
Zombies) as followers from later decades such as the Electric Light Orchestra, XTC, and the Dream Academy. It is notable, however, that all of these progenitors are British, and to listen to The Vice and Virtue Ministry, one would suppose that the Happy Bullets are, too. There are frequent references to the River Thames, cricket, and other specifically English items, and the band`s singers, Jason Roberts, Tim Ruble, and Andrea Roberts, often affect British accents. But then, that reflects the impact of pop`s international appeal and the continuing effects of recordings over time; if these Texan 20- and 30-somethings want to fill their record collections with British pop music and make their own version of it, who`s to say they shouldn`t? After all, the Rolling Stones were making like blues musicians from Chicago and the Mississippi Delta long before they crossed the Atlantic. And it`s hard to argue when the Happy Bullets are so good at what they do. Their songs are light and catchy pop with strong melodies set to arrangements Beatles producer George Martin would recognize, with their touches of chamber pop in the additions of a cello part here, a trumpet flourish there. Especially appealing is the up-tempo "If You Were Mine," Andrea Roberts` showcase, although Jason Roberts and Ruble, who otherwise alternate on lead vocals, both sing well, the one in a smooth tenor, the other in a more strained voice, edging into falsetto." Major moments of indie-power pop brilliance all over this gem!
 Good Day - mp3
Drinkin` on The Job - mp3
Mr. Grey - mp3
The Vice and Virtue Ministry - mp3
Sex and Valium - mp3 |
