Review Summary: "Worse than anything is the anxiety of not knowing"
Questions Happiness is a bedroom project started by Adam Cave of Brighton, UK.
January is a succinct EP "recorded over a couple of slow, stormy days on a crappy 4-track."
Approaching this review, I took into consideration my own ideas of artistic merit, and whether or not certain releases are worthy of praise depending on the reviewer's perception of it. At surface level, Questions Happiness seems quite typical. The entirety of his work utilizes simple guitar work, mumbling harmonies, and the occasional fuzzy bass line. The lyrics tend to draw upon themes of sensitivity coupled with relational inadequacy, and the overall sound is slowcore akin to Bluetile Lounge minus the lush atmosphere and overall production quality. Indeed, at surface level Questions Happiness hasn't created anything particularly outstanding with
January, but it is not without merit. Adam Cave is clearly aware of his limitations, and has sought to create nothing more than a simple collection of songs that describe his emotional turmoil briefly and honestly; and he seeks nothing in return, save perhaps the self-satisfaction of putting his thoughts in recorded form.
The opening track "I'm F
ucking Useless, You're Every Sunset" bluntly sets the tone for
January, as Cave self-deprecates while remorsefully praising his love interest. His vocal delivery makes it difficult to understand the majority of the lyrics, but the tone encapsulates Cave's somber state of mind. The eponymous track "Questions Happiness" carries a slightly more uplifting tone, particularly in the chorus: "
Alannah, we'll get through it/you're my everything". As Cave persistently repeats these words, there is the implication that they serve as nothing more than representation of the false hope one might experience near the end of an inevitably failing relationship.
January represents feelings that many of us are all too familiar with, and never strives to do much more than that. While it may be underwhelming, particularly to those with little-to-no appreciation for lo-fi bedroom music, the underlying artistic merit of Question Happiness is exemplified by some of the most succinctly honest music you'll listen to this year.
