Micachu and the Shapes is one of those bands that I would normally hate but there is something very genuine and playfully unnerving about them. Good Sad Happy Bad contains some elements of Stereopathetic Soulmanure era Beck and 1998 and Twin Infinitives era Royal Trux. It is hard to define the music of Micachu (or early Beck and Royal Trux) but I have seen and heard a lot of acts try to pull off this style and what generally happens is you get “cool guys” wearing Members Only jackets with ukuleles, “shredding” riffs on children’s toys and tiny Cassios while ripping butts on stage just to remind the crowd that they don’t want to be there just as much as you don’t want them to be; I 100% blame Animal Collective.
Good Sad Happy Bad is a collage of instruments and sounds- samplers, keyboards, drums and other percussion, guitar, etc. I really don’t know what is happening but it all collapses together wonderfully. The vocals and harmonies waver in and out of key while sliming the rickety and disjointed framework of each track.
Some songs are perfect for the beach; if the beach you are going to is next to a nuclear power plant; “Relaxing,” “Sea Air,” “L.A. Poison” are just the songs for watching the sun turn purple and swimming along side sea life that look straight out of Fukashima.
Songs like “Hazes,” “Oh Baby,” “Unity,” and “Dreaming” remind me of the time I got a concussion from a punching bag; once the nausea subsided and I could see again, I had this overwhelming feeling of hazy euphoria; all the sounds were swarming and swelling and I knew people were talking to me but their words were just as swirled but it felt so right…am I alone on this one? However, I am a slightly afraid of “Unity;” the sample in it sounds like one of those EVP (Electronic Voice Phenmonena) recordings from those ghost-hunting shows where the spirits just want you to get the fuck out of their cold spots.
Then there is “Thinking It,” which is the anomaly of the anomalies on Good Sad Happy Bad…just listen to it for some good heart healthy advice told over some 60’s game show music.
All in all, there is a method to the madness that is Micachu and the Shapes. There is definitely a specific time and place for Good Sad Happy Bad; it’s a success when a band can create an aesthetic that taps into specific moods and feelings that make you crave their albums when certain scenarios arise. Micachu and the Shapes have two full lengths before this one, Chopped & Screwed (At Kings Place 01-05-10) and Never. Micachu also has a solo album called Jewellery. I am looking forward to checking all of them out.
Rating: 4.75 out of 6 Doves While in the midst of sniffing his favorite Vanity 3 glove, Prince heard something that he thought he might like. Over the sound of wind chimes, Tibetan prayer bells, girls orgasming, and peacocks; Micachu and the Shapes’ Good Sad Happy Bad was playing and it tickled him.