Search - Daryll-Ann :: Happy Traum

Wow

Blackberries | PA | 05/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is absolutely fantastic, start to finish. Rarely do I find music anymore that stays with me for weeks and just keeps getting better and better after each listen, but that's exactly the case with this album. There are plenty of decent, unheard of pop albums out there, but few, and I mean very few, compare to Daryll-Ann's Happy Traum. Teeming with blissful melodies, dazzling refrains and stellar lyrics, rarely, if ever, is there a dull moment in these wonderful songs. I'm certain that any person inclined to buy good, authentic pop music (Beach Boys, Beatles, Belle & Sebastian, Wilco, anything Elephant 6, etc.) will be just smitten with at least six (out of fourteen) tunes from Happy Traum. My favorite moments of the album (there are a bunch of them) come on the opening tracks, Surely Justice and Everybody's Cool, and tracks seven and eight, When You Cry and Money or Love, respectively. Surely Justice opens up with a thrashing, classic rock riff that rolls into starry harmonies tangled up in a brief but spectacular rockout; as good an opener as there is. The second track, Everybody's Cool, is even better than Surely. I don't know exactly what it is about this song that makes it so good. There's not really anything that's specifically bedazzling, but when I hear this song with my headphones turned up high, it manages to carry me away each and every time it pumps through my head. A special song indeed. When You Cry, another one of my favorites, immediately brings Neil Young to my mind. The song doesn't necessarily sound like any of Neil or Crazy Horse's work, but the intensity here, the sheer passion and soul, is definitely comparable to the torridness abounding in Neil Young's music. My fourth and quite possibly my most favorite track is Money or Love. So many emotions overwhelm me when listening to this song. Joy, sadness, nostalgia, regret, hope, optimism, they all make appearances, sometimes all at once, and render a truly life-affirming song. Some other solid tracks include The Miracle Legion, All By Myself and Desmond Don't Go. I highly recommend Happy Traum for any and all listeners."

Smiley Smiles

David Bradley | Sterling, VA USA | 01/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"HAPPY TRAUM is a wondrous thing, Poppy and melodic without being drippy or sugared-down.This is the only album I've ever heard that reminds me of the best of mid-career Beach Boys--including PET SOUNDS--without overtly copying it. Yes, the color combos on the cover are the same as PET SOUNDS and yes, there is a pic of the band standing neck-deep in the surf--and, yes, some of the lead vocals sound disarmingly similar to early-70s Carl Wilson--but there is so much more to this record than a Beach Boys-mimic band could ever hope to achieve."Surely Justice," for instance, sounds more like XTC than Brian Wilson. I can't get enough of this song; I've had sessions in the last few months where I listen to it 8 or 10 times straight, something I've only done a handful of times since I was 17. A truly great Pop record.There are some less-than-perfect moments--I could do without "Desmond Don't Go," for starters--but the overall effect of this album is mesmerizing. From the Pop fizz of "Surely Justice" to the the Brian Wilson/Paul McCartney-esque swirl of "The Miracle Legion," from the swing of "When You Cry" to the Monkees-like "Money or Love" to the achingly sweet "Riverside" and "The Leaves,"--which sounds like the Beach Boys teaming up with America and playing a Jim Morrison tune--HAPPY TRAUM is a truly great album.So how come nobody here in the States has heard of them?Does anyone really need to hear me rant and rave about the sorry state of American radio again?"

What a great record!

James Natale | Miami, Fl United States | 11/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this record after hearing it once from a friend in his car. From then on I couldn't get it out of my head. Great little hooks that stick with you for days. Refreshing to hear pop tunes this well written. Finally someone who actually cares about melodies. Get it you, wont be disappointed!"