Start Listening To: Pretty Happy

Pretty Happy aren’t afraid to shine a light on the darkness in the world. Covering heated topics such as drink spiking, suburban angst and rape culture.

The band recently shared new single ‘Boots’ taken from their upcoming EP Echo Boy. For the EP, the Cork art-punk trio teamed up with producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy (Lankum, Black Midi) at Hellfire Studios in Dublin to record. The EP's name and cover image make tribute to the Echo Boy statue, created by Cork City sculptor Barry Maloney to honour the Evening Echo newspaper's paperboy street vendors.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you're from, and a little bit about the music that you make?

We're a three piece Art Punk band from Cork City. We like to make music inspired by our home. Our music sometimes may come off a bit madcap or strange but honestly it's just a reflection of us as young Irish people.

How did you form?

Arann got offered a gig for a band he was in that had split up. He lied and said he had another band that could play the gig. Then he convinced his sister and his best friend to write a half hour set. Andy didn't know how to play drums and Abbey barely knew how to play guitar. But from there, some strange sounds started to happen.

We love your debut single 'Boots' can you tell us more about the lyrics?

The song features a sort of perculiar Irish Trad inspired lyrical style. The subject matter is about drink spiking in Cork City and how scary a seemingly fun and harmless night out can become. Drink spiking has grown a lot more prevalent in recent years and the "Man as big as a tree" isn't so much about how tall or wide the man is, it's commenting on how much power one person with bad intentions can have.

How are you feeling about releasing your debut EP?

We're all thrilled to be sharing Echo Boy with the world. We poured a lot of ourselves into these songs. We've never made music that's been more 'Us'. We're really proud of them and are excited that people finally get to listen.

How has your home city of Cork influenced your music?

Cork has had a profound impact on our music. We sing in our own accents and lots of our songs are filled with references to the city. Cork is a very strange place, and our identity as Corkonians has allowed us to express ourselves in our own unique way. We also are heavily inspired by a lineage of Cork Post-Punk such as Five go down to the sea, Stump and Fatima Mansions.

Can you tell us more about how you produce your music?

A lot of our music starts with a little riff or a phrase. We use stream of consciousness to build up lyrics and melodies. Then we stick together whatever we think fits. Most songs that make it to the stage are those that make us laugh the most.

Name an album you're still listening to from when you were younger and why it's important to you?

I think it's a toss up between Surfer Rosa and Doolittle by Pixies. Pixies was a very early common ground the band shared. The wildness in the music coupled with the strange howling vocal delivery was a big impact on our journey to find our musical voice.

Is there any new music from 2022 you have been enjoying?

Tonnes. Gilla Band's Most Normal is a triumph of an album. As is Junior Brother's The Great Irish Famine. Two very different sounds but two we are as equally as excited about.

What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your music?

I think instead of telling people how to sound similar to us, we would say play what feels right and natural to yourself. Music is an identity and everyone has a slightly different one. We couldn't really tell you why or how we sound the way we do, it just feels right in our bellies.

What do you love right now?

Being back home after tour, Big John's TikTok page, seven tayto christmas hampers.

What do you hate right now?

Sore Greggs bellies, the dog sh*t situation in Mayfield, travelodge pillows.

Is there a particular place in the world you would love to play a gig one day?

It would probably be a pain to get the gear over, but we have a very romantic idea to play an outdoor gig on a small Irish island. Maybe Inis Mor or Inis Meain. We think playing next to a wild Irish coastline would be an unbelievable backdrop.

Is there anything you would like to share with our readers?

You can buy Echo Boy on vinyl now through our Bandcamp. Visit Cork if you want to know more about us. Everything we do is an attempt to create an audio encapsulation of the City. Please come here and spend your tourist money.