Album Reviews
Van She – Idea of Happiness Album Review
It’s really not fair for electro pop foursome Van She to evoke all these images of sunshine with their second album Idea of Happiness. It’s totally not fair that track such as ‘Jamaica’ and ‘Coconuts’ (complete with steel drums) make us dream of the beach while we’re freezing our nips off in the middle of winter.
It’s been four years since the Sydneysiders have graced their airwaves with their own material (we’re not counting the rather large portfolio of remixes), so needless to say it’s been a highly anticipated release. Their debut V was going to be difficult to live up to considering it reached number 10 on the ARIA Charts. As a follow up album, Idea of Happiness is a stark contrast to their grittier debut, and the result is a sound that is just as polished, but with a completely different personality.
This sophomore album is jam-packed of summery, piña colada-doused tracks, and perhaps they’ve done this on purpose. Maybe the idea was to be transported to some beach party where a Italian dude is hitting on your drunk girlfriend, but we’ll let that slide because this album is amplified tropical disco, and it’s really, really fun. Our highlight includes the title track ‘Idea of Happiness’ and the exceedingly catchy ‘Calypso’.
The 11-track album, set for release on July 6 was engineered and produced in Sydney and mixed in LA with Tony Hoffer, who’s resume includes work with Beck, Air, Phoenix and M83. Sometimes the tropical references can get a bit much, but nonetheless it is an enjoyable journey.
Actually, you know, what? Van She can go and get fucked, because every time we listen to this record, we want to book flights to the Caribbean, and we’re living on a diet of Wonder White and instant Mi Goreng.
Idea of Happiness is out July 6 and tour dates have been announced.
