Review: Charles Spearin- The Happiness Project

Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene and Do Make Say Think has followed suit of his myriad band mates and released a solo record. This one however, stands alone. Rather than rehashing more of the huge indie sound of BSS or the intricate post rock of DMST, Spearin reaches back to his roots in KC Accidental (often overlooked, but some of the best stuff still to come out of Toronto) to produce a like minded record of subtle instrumental beauty. What truly is unique here is the concept behind the music. Spearin took it upon himself to interview many of his neighbors and acquaintances about happiness. He recorded the conversations, took the tapes home, and literally played along with the conversations. Note for word, he literally plays along with the voices on the tape. No exaggeration. It is an impressive feat to say the least, but you can't help but be suspicious of gimmickry at work here. Gimmick or not, can you really resist at least a listen?

At a concise one and a half minutes, "Mrs. Morris" serves as a straightforward introduction to the basics of whats going on here. Literally a note for word play along with what Mrs. Morris is saying. At first the effect is startling. "Does she really sound like that?" you ask yourself. Yes, yes she does. More importantly, the opener introduces one of the more interesting facets of the album. Mrs. Morris, an older African American woman, has her voice represented by a saxophone. It traces the inflections perfectly, and with each track you find that different voices are characterized by similarly appropriate instruments. Hearing each unique personality represented through unique instruments is a wonderful quirk that really helps carry the concept behind the record. On the following tracks, the rules are not adhered to so strictly. Rather, the voices introduce the melodies, which are then picked up instrumentally and filled out by full productions. Often the vocal sample containing the melody is looped to help make it work within the framework of the song, and most typically then dropped all together to let the instruments play off these themes. "Anna", done on trumpet, offers one of the highlights of the record on what becomes a laid back jazzy romp. "Vanessa", a formerly deaf woman provides another highlight with piano tinkling along to her musings on the nature of sound in general. Other curiosities include a woman done on harp, a baby done on singing saw (?), and a reprise from who has to be the same old man off of the Valley of the Giants record. To close the record they give Mrs. Morris the full production treatment, tying things off neatly.

The spoken word has always had a place in post rock. Whether being cryptic old radio broadcasts, recalls of memory, or merely studio chatter, using speaking to flavor the sentiment of this kind of music is not rare in the least. With that being the case, Spearin's record would be an easy listen, even to someone wholly unfamiliar with the project. Judged on the sole basis of just any post rock record however, it is short. At 31 minutes, there have been single songs in the genre that eclipse this whole work. Towards the sixth and seventh track, the melodies do not nearly pop as much, the instrumentation becomes more challenging, and the novelty of the "playing along" gag starts to wear off. These become criticisms mainly as a reflection of how short the album is. There is no cathartic release after these challenges, as the album never plays out enough to allow one. Not to mention that the listener would probably ideally imagine the immediacy of the albums first half to play all the way through.

In the end, the "gimmickry" of the project really does bring something to the table. One of the great pitfalls of post rock is when you start to feel that a group is phoning it in; putting out more-of-the-same type albums when the inspiration starts to fail (recent Sigur Ros anyone?). The inspiration is on full blast here, and it comes through in the music. Likewise, an impressive array of moods and sentiments manage to be effectively communicated, whereas many such records only can manage to sustain one. However, this being one of the best instrumental releases so far this year, I'm pretty sure the mood you'll end up settling on is happiness.

Rating: 7.5/10
Best Tracks: "Anna", "Vanessa", "Mrs. Morris (Reprise)"