Van She
Idea of Happiness
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Record label: Modular Records
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Album Review: Idea of Happiness by Van She
Fairly Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 6.1/10
2008 was something of a watershed year for digitally augmented indie pop, with releases like Hot Chip's Made in the Dark, M83's Saturdays=Youth, and Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours all highlighting strains of a beatific, open-armed sound that would very soon become practically inescapable within those bands' respective spheres. 2008 also saw the release of V, the debut album from Australian electro-rockers Van She. Though still very much electronically inclined, V sounded more rooted in modern rock radio looks, having more in common with, say, Muse than the hip-- and hip-guided-- music their perceived peers were churning out at the time.
Opinion: Very Good
If Sydney’s Van She’s second album is an attempt to reflect the climate of their hometown, then the electropop foursome have outdone themselves. ‘Idea Of Happiness’ is a relentlessly, resolutely sunkissed cruise through a midsummer night’s dream of synth pop Utopia. It’s also a bit cringeworthy in places – but maybe that’s the point?Van She are unquestionably an efficient, well-oiled synth machine.