Happy to You

Miike Snow spread their wings

Producer’s craft, albeit well paid and deeply respected, sadly for specialists in this field, remains pretty much unnoticeable for most listeners. And practically every one of them at least once in life wanted to leave this path and join performers, those who are always seen and heard. Swedes Christian Carlsson and Pontus Winnerberg, apparently, decided the time had come to come out of the shadow of singers and musicians and take the stage themselves. Alongside American song-writer Andrew Wyett, they assembled a band exotically named Miike Snow and by now they have two long players in their discography. The first one, named after the band, was not a lot of excitement for the public. The new trio of people who know the ropes of music business, share a great deal of creative ideas and determination, simply did have enough guts to declare something of their own, and lacked charisma, a key thing to make a truly remarkable performer. All of these qualities were mysteriously gained by the members of the ensemble during their following tours. Their sophomore album, Happy To You, tells the whole story.

A significant progress after minor style corrections

Abstaining from dramatic changes to their writing approach, Miike Snow released a record a good deal better than its predecessor. Singles Paddling Out, and Devil’s Work, in fact, continue what the debut offer presented. Only they are more expressive and, positioned on a border between dance electronica and indie rock, these are catchy tracks with impressive vocals. Should Miike Snow have recorded the entire album Happy To You in the vein of these two tunes, we would have enjoyed the old idea delivered anew. Yet these guys walked farther. Discreetly and accurately did they put accent not the beats and vibe, but the atmosphere. The opening Enter The Joker’s Lair is not a dance bomb to explode a dance floor. Instead, it has twisting keys that unfold their own story full of secrets and puzzles.The Wave has a more dynamic beat in it, yet the listener will be attracted by Andrew’s vocals, certainly the highlight of the tune. It could be just another good dance piece, but the American’s emphatic singing enriched it with a more deep and interesting meaning.

Happy To You is loaded with fine experiments

Happy To You has at least two more successful experiments from Miike Snow. We are talking about God Help This Divorce, and Black Tin Box. The former, characterized by the musicians as their slowest piece, turned into their most emotional song, the one to remember at once. Первая, охарактеризованная самими музыкантами как самая медленная их песня, в итоге The latter will surprise the listener with almost mystique motifs as if molded specially for a thriller movie. Once you notice that synth-pop in shape of Pretender, and Vase is not as powerful as abovementioned attempts, then the ensemble should be credited with their experimental works. Certainly, slowing down and diversifying keys did a lot of good to the sounding of Happy To You. As for Miike Snow, they should really think well on what needs to be prevailing on their following works. What if they do not need to narrow their style down to good quality, yet pretty much alike, dance tracks? Happy To You was the first album to show the audience how far Snow Miike potential may reach, and for the musicians this is definitely a huge leap forward in all respects.