Happy Little Clouds – Embers

There’s an old saying in music about how an artist has their entire life to write their first album and then a short burst of indeterminate time after to craft the second. It’s rooted in an old-school mentality, as if the trials and tribulations of youth are more central in relaying a personal narrative than the reflection that comes after it, and how artists are often forced to synthetically replicate that emotion, and quickly, to continue a perceived trajectory.

But sometimes, an artist and their band simply need to rip it up and start again. And in those times, that second album is perhaps their true statement of purpose, once more closely aligned with who that artist truly is.

For Happy Little Clouds, the Boston grit-pop trio set to release sophomore album Embers to the streams on Friday, July 18, the path that led to this moment tells a greater, more poignant story of reflection, assessment and awakening.

When the band takes the stage at The Burren in Somerville the following night, on Saturday, July 19, alongside theatrical glam superstars Eddie Japan, there will be a sense of cathartic release, one building inside founder Jac Mestel since the release of the band’s debut album, Shift, nearly a decade ago.

A lot has changed since then: for Mestel (they/them), the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and lyricist who has since come out as trans; for the band, now completed by bassist Derek Bergstrom (he/him) and drummer and percussionist Jess Townsend (she/her); and for the world in which Happy Little Clouds reside with a sense of defiance and pride.

Their collective experience has shaped these nine tracks on Embers, and the stories contained within, packed tightly in the band’s eclectic, melodic, and soulful post-grunge sound, offer an invitation to seek refuge, seek allyship, and attempt, both collectively and individually, to make sense of an insane world. The record’s title derives from a lyric in new single “Liar Fire” — “All my body curls like embers / Up or down I’m forced to choose” – a white-hot blast of ‘70s arena-rock ambition that sets a striking tone for an album packed with definable moments. 

“We really liked the symbolism of embers because it represents an intense, ephemeral light – like life,” the band states. “While an ember burns you can’t tell which way it’s going to drift. In the song, it represents a panicked moment where you are at a crossroads in life. You either choose to give into your fear or move toward love.”

That’s what Mestel,  whose great uncle, Herb Weiner, co-wrote the classic pop standard “It’s My Party” way back in the early 1960s, has done over the years in crafting Embers. With the Happy Little Clouds lineup solidified after a few years of pandemic dormancy, the album feels like a declaration of arrival, even with the band generating a cult-like following around their native Massachusetts since inception.

On the strength of five singles, dating back to last year’s video for the upbeat and groove-laden synth banger “The Emperor’s Song,” Happy Little Clouds have been a mainstay on the Radio Indie Alliance singles charts.

“The songs in the album follow a narrative,” the band explains. “Fresh-faced optimism, encounters various obstacles, people and life experiences. Our protagonist plumbs the depths of introspection, existentialism, and eventually a dark night of the soul. They reemerge after hitting rock bottom and sincerely ask, like The Fool in the tarot, ‘Can you help me with these questions about life, loss, and love?’”

By Embers’ closing track, “The Water at Your Feet,” there is a reflection back at life, and Mestel sums it up perfectly: “Like a town drowned to create a reservoir with all its once relevant objects now relics of the past. We end the album looking back through all of life, both the painful and the joyful parts, all together.”

Seven of the songs featured on Embers were recorded and mixed at Deadmoon Audio in Somerville, Massachusetts, just after Bergstrom joined the band, bringing a bassline buoyancy inspired by the likes of Gang of Four, The Replacements, and Future Islands. The two most recent Sound Cove singles, “Higher” and “Clear and Present Danger,” were recorded and mixed by Ethan Dussault at New Alliance Audio in Somerville, where the creative trio truly flexed as a cohesive unit. All the songs were mastered by Pete Weiss at Jade Cow Music in Middletown, Rhode Island.

“It’s just the combination of our influences and skills coming together in a way that is authentically us,” Happy Little Clouds admit. “Derek likes eclectic rock and ska, and comes up with bangin’ counter-melodies as a result. Jess loves bubble-gum rock, where the melodies are super saccharin. That influence inspires her to think in melody more than rhythm. Jac grew up listening to classic rock and Broadway showtunes and always was drawn to any music with a melody that explored unusual chord progressions and was melody-driven.”

That shines through across the record, but most notably on two tracks that serve as the album’s focal points – May’s “Clear and Present Danger,” a melodic, post-grunge earworm with a moody low-end new wave undercurrent that takes aim at narcissistic power structures; and “Liar Fire,” an anthemic power-pop banger with a dynamic synth line, about understanding a person’s true motives. Both tracks swirl around a theme of manipulation, and how to understand and identify it, and they offer one of many glimpses into what the band personally experiences.

“‘Clear and Present Danger’ taps into themes of resistance, including confronting narcissistic manipulation and toxic power structures,” the band admits. “This topic feels super relevant right now because we all know someone like this – a boss, a partner, a relative, or even a politician – whose charm hides an ugly side. And we know the truth about them, and we are screaming to their fans and supporters, ‘How can you not see this?!’”

The track, drawing from those experiences while also realizing that a narcissist’s power is ultimately paper thin, is driven by a very deliberate linear drum beat from Townsend, known for her work in World/Inferno Friendship Society, and Bergstrom’s calculated bass distortion. And it also boasts one of several brilliant lyricisms by Mestel – “I saw her hand was made of glass / Which I could surely shatter” – that aims to empower listeners to break free from cycles of abuse.

Similarly, “Liar Fire” draws us into this world even deeper, with the band elaborating: “‘Liar Fire’ is about coming to the realization that someone close to you has been wearing a mask and they’re not who you thought they were. It’s when you realize finally that you’ve been manipulated, lied to, and have been devalued over time. This epiphany means everything in your life as it blows up all at once, which is why we use ‘The Tower’ from the tarot to represent this song. While it’s hard to go through a huge life-altering moment, you usually come out the other side for the better and have learned more about who you want and do not want in your life.”

Elsewhere across Embers, themes of realization and awakening flow through each melody and hook. The riff-heavy “I Don’t Suppose” was penned by Mestel when they were figuring out how to navigate early adulthood, especially in dating as a young queer person; the ‘90s alt-rock warmth of “Lungs” showcases Mestel’s vocal intensity, even in the quieter parts, with the message of the song, “We are the way we are,” speaking boldly for the two-thirds queer band; and “The Emperor’s Song,” about taking the anger and trauma of a toxic relationship and channeling it into empowerment, cascades from the speakers as a veritable indie-pop bop that blends alt-rock urgency with a spacious synth-pop depth and propulsive vitality.

Slinging a heavy, distorted guitar riff with relative ease, “Offswitch” also comes from a dark place as it explores an equally heavy subject matter, as the song delves into efforts to help a person who is suicidal. Mestel admits that the track resonated with their mother while she was battling cancer, just before succumbing to the disease, and the experience helped shift their lyrical perspective on it. “Now I sometimes look at this song through the lens of someone who is sick and feeling these intense feelings of wanting relief from the literal pain of living,” they admit. “It’s an intense song for me.”

“Representation is of the utmost importance right now,” Happy Little Clouds conclude. “There’s never been a more urgent time to find our people and remind them that they are loved for exactly who they are. And by ‘our people’, we mean not just queer folks, but also allies and those who are capable of empathy for folks beyond their own immediate circle. We are a band that includes a trans person, a queer person and an ally. This year we will have played five Pride events, including the historic Boston Dyke March because Pride is protest. ‘We are the way we are’. And we’re not going anywhere.”

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