Liam Singer 'Dislocatia' – Underground of Happiness

Excerpt: “Regular readers will know that if it’s chamber pop, I’m there. Even for the converted though, this is thrillingly beautiful music, from the Brooklyn-based composer…. The 16 tracks include one mini-symphony after another, most of which average around 2 minutes. Despite this, they never feel rushed, yet still manage to leave a complex aftertaste. Piano provides the core of the instrumentation (often treated, but usually with a measured, classical feel), with various other keyboards and orchestrated strings in support. Notably, the album also features the lovely, airy, folk singing of Wendy Allen from labelmates Boxharp (her partner in Boxharp, Scott Solter, also produces), which proves a perfect counterpoint to Singer’s own vibrato. As the album title suggests, the atmospheres are never totally reassuring, although they still manage to remain hopeful. The massed vocal and pulsing piano ending to Leave the world to those who care has a medieval feel, and also calls to mind Steve Reich, with its slightly disconcerting off-rhythm running under a wholly engaging melody. A certain avant-garde tendency is confirmed by the title Morton Feldman holding notes for eternity, which features a pair of parallel, out-of-sync vocal lines with a sort of math-rock piano backing…. Allied to the album’s experimental leanings, though, is a beating pop heart. In the words of a certain pop song, it’s all too beautiful.”

Underground of Happiness