"...an amazing collection of pop songs...I connect with this music."

                                              - Richard Milne WXRT Chicago


www.wxrt.com





Happy Ashtray - Big Apple (CD, Kitchen Sink, Pop)
Subtle melodic underground pop. John Swamy is Happy Ashtray.
Big Apple is a great album featuring Swamy's unique and intelligent
slant on life. The tunes are clean from unnecessary clutter and feature
wonderfully sincere melodies. Swamy's deep vocals are extraordinarily
effective. While the compositions on this album possess slightly familiar
qualities...we are hard pressed to come up with any obvious influences.
The only person whose music is somewhat similar is longtime recording
guru R. Stevie Moore...but Swamy's tunes are much more accessible.
Wonderfully fulfilling songs like "4 Times Daily," "From the Inside"
(our favorite), "Twinkle," and "Where Are You?" showcase a fresh
new artist with an uncanny knack for writing timeless pop tunes.
Recommended. Excellent. (Rating: 5)  www.babysue.com






Music Review | Happy Ashtray  "Big Apple" (Kitchen Sink Records)
 
By Nick Di Zinno - Aggie Staff Writer

May 28, 2003

Why has no one ever heard these guys before? The bizarre mix of
relaxing almost-Muzak, humming harmonies and a clear, remarkably
versatile voice create a wonderfully lazy album. This is the music
of fog - something to listen to when the world is pleasantly sleepy.

This should not be taken to mean that Happy Ashtray is music
to wallow in. Plucking and strumming its way into happiness,
this album is as content as a well-fed badger.

Awash with confident, sophisticated layers, don’t concentrate too hard
if listening with headphones, or some of the tracks will do your head in.
Alternatively, if listening through speakers, be careful of the musical
anesthetics of textured lullabies that pepper the album, because if you do
nod off, you’ll miss the Phil Collins-esque soaring of “From the Inside,”
or the gleefully ska-ish brass of “4 Times Daily.”

As interesting as the more vocal-driven tracks may be, the sonorous
instrumental tracks are what separate Happy Ashtray from all the other
amateur strummers. When they sound like background music, they are at
their creative peak. Freed from the constraints of accommodating the human
voice, the 1980s fetish disappears in a blaze of uber-relaxing glory. If the whole
world heard the inspirationally titled “Instrumental 119,” everyone would swap
their SUVs for heinously large pillow collections.

If you like sleep, music and just feeling really mellow, with just a pinch
of funky goodness, then Happy Ashtray might be just the thing you’re
looking for. Just avoid listening while operating heavy machinery,
and the world will seem like a very happy place indeed.


 
This is not writer Nick Di Zinno.
This is a picture of a very excited
basketball player from his school.
He just read the review above.

www.californiaaggie.com