REVIEW: Miike Snow – “Happy To You”


[Mar. 26th 2012 – Universal Music Canada/Downtown // Find it at: Insound | iTunes]

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Electronica has always had a bright, fuzzy tinge to it and even if three-man group Miike Snow tried to stick to that formula, their results would always instill an image of darkness. Part of it could be attributed to the fact 2/3 of the indie poppers are indeed from Sweden (i.e. Lykke Li, Opeth), but it’s a trait that rampages through their second cut Happy To You while all the while fittingly gets saturated into a natural slice of tranquilizing recordings. It’s not dismal in the way Skrillex stomps on bass heavy club whips with nu metal as it’s more sharp; punishing keys blanket emotional hits of exhilaration (“Devil’s Work”, “The Wave”), hazy pitches launch into a fifth gear pace (“Paddling Out”, “Pretender”) and even New Yorker Andrew Wyatt finds himself doing his best George Michael impersonation on “Vase”, shriveling into a static of synth before the swagger re-materializes. It’s these battles between dark and the peaks of pop music that overpowers Happy To You’s eagerness to swing into buoyant mixes that lack presence. They don’t party crash, but it’s not necessary when Wyatt and the rest of Miike Snow can make percussion sound haggardly beautiful that it turns your headphones into a black hole of two-tone electro rock joy.

Download: “The Wave”, “Devil’s Work”, “God Help This Divorce”

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