LEND THEM YOUR EARS - 28/03/2011 - LET'S BUY HAPPINESS

Hello one and all, sorry about the absence over the last few weeks, I've been protecting the free world.

But I'm back, TDNMMAJ is back and right here, right now, Lend Them Your Ears is back, to showcase Let's Buy Happiness

Let's Buy Happiness are fast becoming a very badly kept secret - they supported Frankie & The Heartstrings at a Topman-sponsored gig earlier in the month, have been picked up by Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson, Drowned in Sound, Amazing Radio and NME; and will be playing a gig in Newcastle curated by Huw Stephens in May, as well as Kendal Calling later in the summer. Oh and they've supported Idlewild, Vivian Girls, The Futureheads, Sky Larkin and The Temper Trap. And played Glastonbury last year. But still, they're ace and deserve even more attention and that's why I'm going to go on about them for a few more paragraphs. You strapped in? Good.

The Northeastern quintet of experimental indie-types have been together for a couple of years, releasing their debut EP No Hot Ashes in 2009. Since then they've also released singles Six Wolves and Fast Fast (which you can hear below) on their own label Ghost Arc Records. The band's affection for the North American alt-indie scene and bands such as Modest Mouse and Tokyo Police Club is evident in their fuzzy soundscapes, understated vocals and general soaring-ness.



Listening to Let's Buy Happiness leaves you feeling like you've had some kind of bodily experience, like the music is seeping into you with snippets of sounds you can almost grasp coming in and out and basically making it seem like something has happened to you. The band also work acoustically with the B-side to Fast Fast, entitled Devil Show, exhibiting a much more gentle, sweet, soothing side.

All in all the two sides and one EP that Let's Buy Happiness have created shows them to already be, despite their young age, masters of moving, atmospheric indie music and to hint at the potential to be even better. There will be plenty of opportunities to see them honing their craft on-stage over the coming months as they do shows all over the UK. I'm hoping to catch them at some point, to sample their wonderfulness live and I do so hope that you will do the same, and lend them your ears.




You can find Let's Buy Happiness at www.letsbuyhappiness.com and their music can be purchased from www.letsbuyhappiness.co.uk . Follow their every thought at www.twitter.com/lbhappiness and press a button to exclaim your affection for them at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lets-Buy-Happiness/128399670820