With an outpouring of love and dedication and an aspiration to explore soul and spirit, the band Happy Curmudgeons reunites for a celebration of Americana on feature work “2nd Chances,” a refreshing blend of inspirational music bundled wonderfully with instrumental talent and exceptional features. Founded in 2015 and a household name in the Detroit scene, the band has made big waves in anticipation of its unique blend of genres and positive outlook. Curmudgeons is hot off of a successful release in “Meant 2 Be,” with a multitude of first place awards and a nomination for best Americana music to boot. Assembled by Dave Hamilton, the band once again seeks to “get inside the note,” and largely succeeds towards that end.
Right away, strong opener “Reluctant Prophets,” features Vaughn Mortimer, with open sounding chords creating a spacious atmosphere for the lead to have much needed breathing room. Kept steady, there’s a certain warmth that’s felt collectively, in part due to such a large stage presence and obvious member synergy. With excellent layering in the instrumentals, its lines are alleviated of any heavy lifting, with improvisational sentiments serving as a go-between for its different characters and themes as rock is pushed to the forefront.
In a slight departure and exploration of yet another theme, title track “2nd Chances” does a great job in living up to quite large expectations, as featured vocals from Amy Dixon-Lavery float delicately above a differing instrumentation, highlighting a strong string presence and noticeable cello backing. As added keyboard and hints of percussion help the song build and fill out a five-minute runtime, the track accomplishes all that it needs to prior to the solo section, though this does little to compromise the works successfully executed sentimental feel.
Contrastingly, the group’s work on “Nostalgia,” fulfills a lighter, more upbeat outlook into the indie rock genre, with core folk elements still in tow. Illustrating a homecoming for the holidays and towns on highways, lead vocals keep things steady with added depth from grounded guitar chords, creating an underlying resonance that carries itself through to the end. While less busier solos serve to connect vocal lines, they tend to stick the landing, especially when patterns can be uncovered by the listener. “All On You,” possessing a substantially different character, makes use of brighter strings and a variation on traditional percussion to detail themes of shared love. Bright chord structure brings this idea home, though background vocals tend to trail behind the lead in a way that sounds almost muffled.
Pivoting to “Rustic Glory,” a more traditional, grounded tune, it’s worth commending the active, moving bass line that serves as foundation for the imagery often illustrated by this work’s lyricism. With instrumentals in constant movement, sensibilities of a summer breeze or walking down by the fence successfully hit the mark, while taking necessary breaks to flesh out guitar soloists and features in an interchangeable manner. Sequenced next, “Jack Russell,” steeped in the style of folk and blues the group is known for, plays to the strengths of ragtime piano characteristics and free-flowing harmonica. Call and response and a small shout section round out the tune as piano dials the listener into an enjoyable closing melody.
On the must listen “Be Kind,” both new and unfamiliar voices propel listeners into a wide array of tones and textures, bending genres further with the introduction of saxophone and lighter, upbeat, bubbly vocals. As lead vocals pay homage to an overall theme of kindness, a larger brass ensemble joins the band in fleshing out the work’s body in a deep and incredibly fulfilling way. Interestingly, such a welcome addition in no way drowns out existing guitar features and solos the band is known for, with the track ending in a well-rounded, rich final chord garnished by jazz improvisation.
With music that aims to inspire, it’s refreshing to hear a group genuine and sincere in fulfilling their mission, and to thrive in that regard. Packed with intricate details and a features list that even exceeds the scope of such a review, “2nd Chances” hits a bullseye in their blend of classic rock, blues, and folk both old and contemporary as the group looks toward a bright future.
Written by Jake Munn