Happy Meals are another example of the great electronic music Glasgow continues to produce. The duo (Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook) released their debut album Apero on Glasgow based Night School Records on 10 November and it is a real treat.
The album's six tracks take you on a journey through an analogue synthesizer filled universe and the rather wonderful electronics merge beautifully with Rodden's vocals which are sung in both French and English. Opener Crystal Salutation is a 9 minute epic that has distinct echoes of the electronic Kosmische side of the Krautrock scene as synths bubble and float around criss-crossing with Rodden's voice to great effect. To these overly sensitive Depeche Mode ears, there's also a feel of DM's In Chains especially at the start when the synthesizers wake up and start working. The much shorter Electronic Disco follows, pushing the band towards a poppier sound albeit one that has a very experimental feel. Side 1 (I managed to get one of the limited edition vinyl versions which is a smashing thing) ends with Altered Images (listen here) which is simply a great synthpop tune with a superb bouncy bass line. The Age of Love kicks off Side 2 and it's immediately redolent of mid 70's era Kraftwerk, somewhere between Radioactivity and The Man Machine which is never going to be a bad thing. Visions of Utopia follows and, perfectly logically, moves from Kraftwerk to an early Human League or Cabaret Voltaire feel with its analogue loops and clicks. The album then ends on the excellent Le Voyage, another song with a poppier feel and an acid like bassline which rounds the album off perfectly. The whole record is a journey through electronic music and it's a really promising debut album that you just want to keep listening to.
Check out Night School Records website for more info on Happy Meals and all their other artists ( http://nightschoolrecords.com/ ) and keep an eye on their Facebook page too
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