Happy to You

Miike Snow

Swedish indie pop trio Miike Snow bombarded the music scene in 2009 with one catchy single right after the next, the highlight of which being “Animal”. I’ve listened to that song hundreds of times and it still has not worn out its welcome. Three years later, Miike Snow return with their second studio album Happy to You. For their second go-around, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and Andrew Wyatt try to branch out from their hook-heavy debut and focus more expanding their sound and crafting something more ambitious.

Happy to You reminds me of Congratulations, MGMT’s sophomore album: hard to digest at first, especially with the lack of a monster single, but you can appreciate it for what it is after a few listens. The first few songs are kind of just their and aren’t anything to really brag about, but once “God Help This Divorce” rolls around, its soulful beat had me hooked. Round it off with some powerful piano lines and you’ve got one of the album’s best songs. The album really finds its groove as it then dives into the catchy and synthy “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)” (think The Cure’s “Close to Me”) and Archipelago has a very solid, albeit brief, piano riff after each chorus that adds so much to the track’s already upbeat melody, yet depressing lyrics. On the album’s longest (and slowest) track “Black Tin Box”, Lykke Li shows up for a guest verse that should have gone one a bit longer, but the pattering drums and masterful synth work make up for that. The album then closes with first single “Paddling Out”, which is by far the catchiest track on the album and has me dancing and singing along to it more and more with each listen.

Though not as approachable as their debut, Happy to You is a decent effort by Miike Snow. Though they might be a little disappointed after one listen, but there is enough here to satisfy superfans of their work to date. This record wouldn’t be nearly as good if Karlsson and Winnberg weren’t such talented producers. As long as they are still producing their own albums, I’m more than willing to give whatever they record a shot.

Recommended Tracks: “God Help This Divorce”, “Archipelago”, “Paddling Out”