Label: Discreet Music

Clayton Noone、Kaaterama Morehu、Jon Arcusにより1999年に結成、2019年にKaaterama Morehuが他界するまで断続的に活動し少部数のレースカット盤やCD-R作品の発表を続けたストレンジ・ローファイポップ/フォーク・グループThe Strange Girls。本作[It's OK To Be Happy]は最初期のトリオ時代(1999-2001)の楽曲にフォーカスした1枚で、編集を手掛けたのはスウェーデン地下界の重要レーベルDiscreet Music。ササクレたラフなテクスチャーが非常に良く馴染んでおり、ダウナーなフォーク/ロック、また雑音を軸とした爽快な疾走演奏までが聴ける多彩な全10曲。まさにDan Johanssonが好みそうなローファイ物件。









Early and mostly previously unreleased recordings from Dunedin's The Strange Girls, a band that initially consisted of Clayton Noone, Kaaterama "Motty" Morehu and Jon Arcus. The Strange Girls existed on and off from 1999 up until Motty's passing in 2019 and left behind a peculiar trail of gems scattered around on a myriad of limited lathe cuts, cassettes and CDrs. It's OK To Be Happy focuses on the trio era - Jon Arcus left the band in 2002 - and starts at the very beginning with 'Satan', the first song at the first gig they ever played. Ten tracks of atmospheric bummer folk/downer rock with that unmistakable lo-fi Root Don Lonie For Cash anything-goes approach, carefully sequenced into something that feels like the album that never was rather than just a compilation. Edition of 500 copies. Insert with liner notes to each track by Clayton Noone.