A Happy Sad. Coaster

A Happy Sad. Coaster's album title is well suited for the music the band plays. Most songs are downcast, melancholy and sad sounding. At the same time I can imagine the band being totally happy with the end result. The songs are drenched in this mood, while in their own sad way sound vibrant and alive.

The band describes its music as slowcore and the bands names dropped in most cases did not ring a bell or if it did, did not make my heart jump for a second in anticipation. Listening to A Happy Sad other bells did ring, like New Zealanders Marlin's Dream, album 'Paragons' by Constant Smiles and Dutch band I Am Oak. That tickled my fancy enough to keep listening.

Coaster returns to this blog, after its debut album 'Painted Faces' was reviewed in the spring of 2024. As a reminder, Coaster is a duo, Bart Appel and Paul Dijkman, who are mostly guitarists. You will hear acoustic guitars interplay softly while the singer reaches us listeners as through a dream. When things turn electric like in 'Come Softly' it is in a modest mode, with a bass and drums joining in (played by Dijkman). When the band takes of in 'Dust' or final song 'Automatic Pilot', it comes like a shock. The weird thing is that even after many listening sessions with A Happy Sad, it's the quiet side of Coaster that sticks to my mind and not the full band sound. This says a lot about how the band comes across in my mind.

The songs were recorded in the living room and bedroom of the musicians. I can only hope the neighbours were out in the loud parts of the album. Listen carefully and you'll notice guitar parts that most likely were very loud but are mixed nicely into the background of the whole, almost as an anxious whisper.

Contrast is what makes A Happy Sad an interesting album. Appel's dreamy voice always keeps Coaster in a quieter corner than some parts of the songs tell you the album is. Mind, a soft song like 'When It Rains' could have been sung by Simon & Garfunkel. It even has that level of quality and it's not hard to hear an intricate harmony vocal there in my mind.

Promo photo

The album is all about losing and finding your bearings, allowing to crawl back and to start again on a different path. 'Come Softly' is the song that started Bart Appel on that path forward. You can hear singer Immen (Clasine Haringsma) singing with Appel in a soft harmony. An extra instrument is added as well, as in some other songs on the album, making the album broader in sound.

A Happy Sad is released on Tiny Room Records and it fits well there remembering albums by Astral Swans, The World of Dust and Garciaphone. Albums that set a mood and are able to fulfil the promise given at the start of that album. Coaster delivers on that promise big time. With 'Fear' the huge side is made even huger.

What my personal experience taught me, is, A Happy Sad is an album to be listened to with full attention. Before you know it, you'd file it as a folky dreampop album. It is so much more.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order A Happy Sad here:

https://www.tinyroom.nl/coaster-a-happy-sad/