The Happy Thoughts – The Happy Thoughts

“We’ll admit, this finished album landed at our headquarters late last summer, but it just seemed unfair to release it in the Fall or Winter months, since this debut LP by the Happy Thoughts is such an incredibly classic-sounding “Summer album” in all aspects of the term. How do guitar riffs like these clear the clouds away so well, while embracing a pure freshness in such a familiar sense? You’ll feel like you’ve been listening to these songs your whole life. As clean and crisp as the early 60s-infused rock’n roll backbeat holding onto these songs for dear life, each track sticks right to your ribs, and with the addition of a full band, compared to the previous solo recordings, it’s a richness you didn’t even know you deserved. Purity, harmony, and true, unabridged happiness come bleeding through this collection of songs even more impressively than on the other bands Eric LaGrange has played a pivotal part in, namely, the excellence of the Cave Weddings and Romance Novels.

It’s got the boyish charm of The Bobby Fuller Four humming along ’64 Bang-era Neil Diamond hooks, and in that same magical way, they perfectly channel the ghost of Buddy Holly so well. Yet, The Happy Thoughts’ raw innocence is so irresistible, so untouched by this cruel world’s evil clutches, it’s like that first kiss, that first warm breeze of Summer, that first wave of excitement you get when you got your first taste of freedom. It’s so heartwarming in certain spots, that it’s almost intimidating to a point, where the sheer optimism and elation of being alive soaks up all the blackness stuck in the darkest corners of the human heart. A true Midwest, Summer classic that will win over even the most hardened souls and the perfect remedy for every level of depression known to man. -VictimofTime.com”