The Happy Pill Academy

This is becoming a prime era for dystopia-inspired art. The brush with annihilation we all just experienced combined with the ongoing frenzy in the world is leading artists to write tales of a scorched earth future since it seems like a legitimate possibility. Plagues (obviously), meteor collisions, world wars, and technological apocalypses are all on the table lately.

On the concept album Postcards To and From a Doomed Civilization, London alternative project The Happy Pill Academy uses the backdrop of a techno-future where the world is a shadow of it once was. In this new world, a lone robot goes on holiday in an attempt to try to find himself. The search leads to emotional highs and devastating lows in a desperate search for meaning. Largely the brainchild of Matthew Guy Ibbs who handles the bulk of the instrumentation, the record takes a loose post-grunge aesthetic and adds a certain narrative sing-song affiliated with the theatre. From there layers of mind-bending sonics from the after-times are infused to tell a story that is both hopeful and tragic, mechanical and human.

'A Transient Dot in my Otherwise Perfect Sky' opens the album with sauntering drums, strummed ukulele and Ibbs belting out through a distorted veneer like the humanity trying to push through the electric. 'George the Pilot' has a rugged alt-country vibe over rattling rhythmic samples. A wily vignette of a daredevil driver. The HPA's cover of Nirvana's 'All Apologies' is a striking choice and is executed with inspired creativity. A happy monosynth takes the lead over Cobain's usual jangly guitar and Ibbs vocals are drenched in reverb to further exude the light in Kurt's “In the sun I feel as one” lines.

'Violent Runtime' has Ibbs slipping into a feral baritone as lo-fi grunge rhythm guitars are punctured by a piercing lead. 'Benjymouse vs. the Soap Robot' sways with a psychedelic cadence reminiscent of the Flaming Lips. Even the title feels like an homage to Yoshimi (whether or not it actually is). Ibbs channels several grunge icons with 'Guatemala's chorus having a very Eddie Vedder style tone and 'Large Scale Sneak Attack' recalling acoustic Alice in Chains, particularly Jerry Cantrell's steadier vocal delivery. 'A Machine for Empathy' rounds out the record with the protagonist looking back on his adventure, revealed but still questioning. The final statement sticks to acoustic instruments alluding to the character embracing his organic nature.

This idea of post-grunge is taking new traction. And as with other “post-” genres, they tend to be loosely defined and confusing. Technically, Creed, nu-metal, and Nickleback were “post-grunge”. This is different. This is approaching the original seeds of grunge with a new reverence. In addition, the musical ideas are augmented by not only new technologies but by the new psych-tinged indie genres that have arisen since '94. Postcards To and From a Doomed Civilization honours its influences and uses them to tell an imaginative story with references and themes from today's mixed-up world.