A year or so on from their last album, Brisbane's Full Power Happy Hour have been refining their approach. The things that made their earlier record so memorable are still here, but Bit of Brightness is full of richer hues, and new shades. This Coolin' By Sound release is one of this week's better new offerings.
Opener "Well Again" is aching and affirmative, Alex Campbell's vocals anchoring this one in a yearning, special way, even as the title cut marries a Nanci Griffith-like sense of delivery with a way with a hook that's again seemingly inspired by The Triffids or The Mekons. Full Power Happy Hour do a kind of roots-y rock so well, bu so deftly, that the resulting sound ends up being something unique. There are other bands who sound like this, yes, but there's something here that renders most of this utterly iconoclastic.
Part of what makes this work is the way the instrumentation maintains a ramshackle DIY ethos, even as singer Alex Campbell is going all in like Maria McKee or Tammy Wynette. "Siblings" is a good example of what I'm talking about. Elsewhere, "Joan" winds around a delightful melody, while the track mines territory similar to that mapped out by Neko Case. When the cut soars, breaking free of its twang-y trappings, it's wonderful, and evidence of this band pushing at the very edges of the sound they've been perfecting on this album and their 2021 offering.
Bit of Brightness is highly recommended, of course, not only for the selections which showcase Alex Campbell's strengths as a vocalist, but for the way Full Power Happy Hour continue to surprise, while offering up a sound that draws favorable comparisons to some very worthy peers. As the group continues to progess, their sound may become even better than what's here on Bit of Brigthness. But this is already so damn good I don't see how they'd make it better.
Bit of Brightness is out on Friday via Coolin' By Sound.
[Photo: Seamus Platt]