Album Review: Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project

Charles Spearin is a pretty big player in the Canadian indie rock scene. He was a founding member of both Do Make Say Think and KC Accidental and has, unsurprisingly, been a contributor to Broken Social Scene. He also has an excellent moustache, but that isn't so relevant here.

In short, one would have a pretty good idea of what to expect from The Happiness Project, his first solo album. You'd also be completely wrong, unless of course you were at any of the Broken Social Scene concerts of the past year when Spearin played samples of the album. The Happiness Project is a completely fascinating record in some respects. It's an intriguing example of process music (whereby the music conveys a certain process used to create it) and perhaps works better as an idea than as an album, but it is an interesting and unexpected turn from our moustachioed hero nonetheless.

The album was born from casual interviews that Spearin conducted with his neighbours and friends in his home neighbourhood in Toronto, in which the subject of happiness was often discussed. Spearin then listened through the recordings, looking for parts that were musically interesting in terms of rhythm or cadence. Musician friends of his then tried to replicate these parts on speech as they best they could, with each interviewee being ascribed a different instrument.

Got that? Again, it's not exactly what you'd expect from a Canadian indie darling's debut release: compare it to Kevin Drew's sort-of solo album Spirit If... and you'll see it's a completely different beast. In fact, the idea of it is more akin to American composer Steve Reich's piece Different Trains, in which instruments likewise mirror parts of speech.

So it's an interesting idea, but does it actually sound any good? Well, yes and no. It has some nice moments but The Happiness Project comes off sounding like the product of a few hours messing around with tapes and jamming with friends, rather than a polished album. Whilst this gives it a somewhat insouciant quality, it means that the overall quality does tend to suffer. Take album opener 'Mrs. Morris' (all tracks are named after the interviewee); it's an intensely annoying track whereby the only accompaniment is a single, honking saxophone. It reminded me mostly of a video that was around during the American Presidential Election, in which a pianist improvised under Sarah Palin talking, only less funny. When the best thing you can say about a song is that it reminds you of a satirical video, that's usually not a great sign.

It gets better, thankfully. Second track 'Anna' keeps the jazzy feeling and makes interesting use of birdsong, giving the overall impression of a slightly more organic Lemonjelly. A nice variety of instruments is seen throughout: brass, strings, harps and even backwards piano (as used on 'Mr Gowrie') combine to create what can be a lush, relaxing musical palette. The aformentioned track is a possible highlight, with it's touching and strangely reflective vocal part.

Unfortunately the idea of the album is applied somewhat erratically - the vocals are more at the forefront of some tracks than others, and blend with the music more easily on some tracks as well. The album can also feel a little bit disjointed, with some songs seeming to consist of different, unrelated ideas stitched together, again making it sound more like an interesting collection of experiments. There are some gorgeous bits scattered about though; the playful violin in 'Ondine', the mellow second half of 'Vanessa', by far the part of the album most similar to Spearin's previous work.

But ultimately The Happiness Project comes across as an interesting idea that didn't quite work as an album, although one can't fault Charles Spearin, and his luxurious facial hair, for trying something new and interesting.