Charles SpearinThe Happiness Project
Arts & Crafts Records [2009]
Fire Drills Review:
Spearin is the third member of Broken Social Scene to release a solo record for Arts & Crafts following Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. The Happiness Project is an interesting mix of jazz, indie, folk and spoken word that gets more intriguing with every listen. Basically Spearin invited his neighbors over to the house for a casual interview vaguely centered around the subject of happiness then constructed melodies based on and around the voices. It sounds more complicated than it is but once you take a listen you realize how Spearin has taken the stories to a different level and blurred the lines between speech and music. This alone deserves praise because the outcome is 30 minutes of pure indie art!
Key Track: "Vittoria"
Band With Similar Fire: Brian Eno
Anna (mp3)
Official Spearin Happiness Project Website
Charles Spearin MySpace
-Reviewed by Roxy Cowell
