Album Review: “Meant 2 Be” by Happy Curmudgeons

Ever since its release in December last year, “Meant 2 Be”, the debut album from Happy Curmudgeons, has been earning wide acclaim from music lovers all over. The album exhibits a different form of their imagination from the beginning and the palate of two alternating voices produce an ecstatic, soulful, and enchanting music to soothe the hearts of the audience. It offers diversity in each song with harmonious synchronization of guitar and other instruments coupled with powerful lyrics.

Happy Curmudgeons have whipped classic rock, blues, and contemporary folk into euphoric sound tracks that add sheer passion to the party environment. The artistic work of the band gets unfolded one by one with emotional lyrics and lively music, creating a musical masterpiece that keeps listeners spellbound.

“Meant 2 Be” Tracklisting

There are 11 tracks in the album, giving you 44 minutes of bliss on end:

Bar Hoppin
Soulsville
Meant 2 Be
3rd Coast
Carnal Boogie
Burn Sugar Burn
Idle Time
You Gotta Move On
Butterfly
Seasons
Scatter Brain

The opening track “Bar Hoppin” is a pop rock with a surrogate edge. It’s a vibrant and humorous track with some lovely guitar. The next track, “Soulsville” is a sort of classic blues rock groove with an elegant touch of saxophone. The title song “Meant 2 Be” is more of a folk music with ear-soothing vocals. The joyful crooning of meaningful lyrics alongside gorgeous play of guitar gives a heavenly bliss to the soul.

“3rd Coast” again has a melancholy of acoustic guitar. It induces an imagination of beachside, bonfire-like atmosphere in the minds of the listeners. “Carnal Boogie” raises the energy-level with stoner metal bass and gives an abounding rhythm and blues orientation.

“Burn Sugar Burn” is a nostalgic style rocker. It has a humble sound of guitar touching the eardrums. The soothing melody and pounding energy hooks the imagination and takes the listener to a different world.

The soft and melodic “Idle Time” is acoustic based and docks on hallucinatory jam band flavor. “You Gotta Move On”, on the other hand, is a country music, conveying meaning in each line.

“Butterfly” brings in the relics of the electronic age. The track rests on classic rock and roll with an effective leading voice coupled with roaring beats of drums, set to regain your attention with utmost beauty. The mesmerizing lyrics and soft music move your emotions.

“Seasons” is loaded with folk fashioned sounds while the mid-track instrumental sound is classic rock styled. The soft music and lyrics complement each other pretty well. The voice in the track also leads to a lot of relevant emotions.

“Scatter Brain” concludes the album with a multi-tiered music loaded with pulverizing sounds of instruments. The melody and the music travel side by side, hypnotizing the audience.

Artist Info

Happy Curmudgeons is a band of four extremely talented musicians:

Dave Hamilton (vocals and guitars)
Jeff Warner (vocals, guitars and mandolin)
Amy Dixon-Lavery (vocals)
Jay “Tumbleweed” Burrs (harmonica)

“Meant 2 Be” was produced by Grammy-nominated Nate Harasim and Mark Byerly (of Bob Seger Band). Happy Curmudgeons also had their studio musician friends contribute to the album: