Album Review: Barrie - 'Happy To Be Here'

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Barrie is the project of five musicians who came from all corners of the world to settle in New York and are the kind of band that you listen to on your vintage record player in an attempt to impress your friends.

‘Tropical’ and ‘Teenage’ are dreamy synth tracks which develop into oscillating waves, encapsulating the jittery excited feeling that of starting something new. This is a carefree and optimism record and while ‘Chinatown’ is fast-paced with an intro that sounds like it has been sampled from a computer game, seeing staccato electronic keys chip away at the body of work, it is completely unhurried. ‘Saturated’ and ‘Geology’ are a lot more subdued. The former presenting as a love song that doesn’t want to give too much away and the latter a reflection on the experience of a crush. “In the end, there’s not really an end” opens the chorus of the mysterious ‘Casino Run’ where you can hear each of the musician’s vocals and the range of influences that span between them. 

‘Happy To Be Here’ is a truly stunning, progressive and experimental debut, perfect for when you’re in the mood for a little reverie.

Words: Tyler Damara Kelly

Happy to Be Here, an album by Barrie on Spotify