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Pretty Happy are an Art-Punk three-piece from Cork. Drawing on a rebellious tradition of Cork Post-Punk, the band has sculpted their own theatre influenced, all-consuming noise rock sound.
Using a combination of spoken word, raw emotion and a demented punk style the band’s latest releases have garnered attention from the likes of KEXP, BBC 6, BBC Introducing, BBC Ulster (Stephen McCauley’s ‘Street Knowledge’), 2FM (Track of the Week), Newstalk as well as The Irish Examiner, The Sunday Business Post, Hot Press Magazine (A+R Department), Nameless Faceless, Nialler9, Golden Plec, The Last Mixed Tape and Entertainment.ie.
The members of Pretty Happy, (Abbey Blake, Arann Blake and Andy Killian), are passionate about their local arts scene. Abbey is founder of Angry Mom Collective, a movement set up to battle the gender divide in Irish arts. All members are also keenly involved in drama and film which bleeds through to their eccentric live performances.
Talking Heads - Girlfriend is Better
David Byrne’s off kilter vocal/singing style has influenced us all a lot. The character he brings to his songs is unparalleled. Such a lovely blend of performance and grooving funk in this track.
Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses
This song is just mad. It’s definitely a track we’ve analysed together over and over again. When you put it on, you know you’re in it for ten minutes, but it absolutely flies by. It’s almost like jumping into a short film, I’ve never experienced such escapism in a song before.
The Armed - Heavily Lined
The energy from this song has probably influenced us writing over the past year. It’s one of those songs where you become immediately energised when it comes on. An unbelievable cup of coffee. Great for the gym, I actually discovered this band on an exercise bike in Offaly which I badly did not want to be using. The music video for this track is great fun also. They almost make it as a short film, with insane production value.
Ought - Beautiful Blue Sky
This song is lovely and vibey yet still strangely holds a lot of bite. I think the vocal subject matter in this song influenced us. Especially the obsession with domestic suburban life. For some reason we love singing about that sort of stuff.
Stump - Buffalo
Stump was a discovery made by the band after a couple of years being together. Everything about them, from Mick’s outlandish vocals to the band’s janky way of playing, really rubbed off on us. Easily a favourite band of ours. The break section in Buffalo,
“How much is the fish?
How much is the fish?
How much is the chips?
Does the fish have chips?
How much is the fish?
How much is the chips?
How much is the fish?
Does the fish have chips?”
may have influenced us to come up with bizarre catchy phrases as hooks in songs rather than melodies or choruses. And of course we can’t ignore the fact half the band are from Cork...
Nun Attax - Reekus Sunfare
This was definitely a song that inspired us to get more creative musically. There’s this sudden but smooth tempo change just after a noisy drivey build into this thumping staccato riff. We love anti-climaxes in music; catching your audience off-guard.
William S Burroughs - The “Priest” They Called Him
This song was a big inspiration for Fintan O’Toole. It really stretches the limits of what a song can be. It’s essentially a short story spoken over guitar noise. Not quite an audio book, not quite a song. But an unbelievable listening experience.
The Velvet Underground -The Murder Mystery
We love to experiment with the three of us on vocals at the same time. Usually not in harmony. How much can we shout over each other before it just sounds like noise. This song really inspired that chaotic, multi-person, multi-melody vocal we’ve been messing around with in a bunch of our songs.
Pixies - Mr Grieves
This song is weird and then gorgeous and then enormous and triumphant. Pixies do that a lot, where you feel your heart wrenching but then you catch yourself and what you’re actually listening to and you have a sneaky giggle.
Minute Men - Paranoid Chant
Minute Men are one of the punchiest punk bands I've ever heard. D. Boon screams his head off about his real life cold war anxieties. Minute Men usually have songs that are just a minute or two. They never like to repeat a melodic idea for too long. They get their point across quick and they do it incredibly well. That really inspired us in writing music, to have multiple melodic ideas and multiple sections in a song.