Happy Birthday to Me

King Tuff came out of nowhere a few years back with one of the best pop records in ages. You could describe it a number of different ways, but let's say Marc Bolan more than had a run for his money. The mystery of who the hell this band was didn't hurt the allure, and when folks learned it was a one-dude effort from a doom metal guy, eyebrows raised.  So of course expectations were high for what comes next, and fast it came. But it didn't come in the form of King Tuff. Apparently, overwhelmed by stage fright when faced with playing new songs live and alone, our hero drafted a few friends and Happy Birthday was born. According to the always credible Internet legend, one song got them a deal with Sub Pop, and the new record was born. And well, the initial backlash was rather unkind. I was late on all of it, but by the time I bought the record, I had read enough trashing of the thing to know my ears were tainted.

And, well, it didn't sound so hot at first. It meandered. Sure, the first tune was a pop monster and the second was no slouch, but those first few listens had me wondering how many Brian Wilson bios our hero had been reading and whether symphonic harmonies was an oxymoron. Time passed, and thankfully, I kept listening. Slowly, the best qualities of the songs revealed themselves, even if a few songs offered very few best qualities. Most did, though, and the extra listening time rewarded the effort. I'm pretty sure that if I had downloaded this album, I would have buried it after three listens, and its treasures would  have lain dormant in the Recycle Bin. I don't have the energy for that big argument, but this is clearly a record that offers its pleasures slowly.  D-loads demand immediate love, cuz if the first listen don't cut it, five more hopefuls are queued and ready for consumption.  You have to pay attention to this record in a way you don't have to with King Tuff to find what's best in it. Don't get me wrong- the KT record is clearly better, but this one is sneaky good. Give it a chance.