Groovy Cellar - Happiness Lies Ahead

  by Cila Warncke

published: 8 / 7 / 2002

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Review

An unintentionally macabre exercise in musical formulaism, Germany’s the Groovy Cellar exhume British indie pop, and prop it up onstage for a twenty tearful minutes. 'The Happiness Lies Ahead' EP is a by-the-numbers guitar pop outing that is executed with admirable Teutonic precision. The title track is a brisk, strum-along affair that is cheery without being joyful, while the requisite sad song ('Take Me As I Am') features an irony-free use of the line “there is a light that never goes out.” When not ripping off the Smiths, the Groovy Cellar settle for sounding like a pastiche of several (very good but now defunct) bands – A House, the Catchers, and the Wedding Present to name a few. Inoffensive, yes, but also totally unnecessary.

Track Listing:-

1 happiness lies ahead
2 take me as i am
3 summer in may
4 happieness lies ahead (oh, my poor darling - remix
5 rachel (unplugged)

Label Links:-

http://www.firestation-records.de/
https://www.facebook.com/firestationre
https://www.youtube.com/user/Firestati