Hot damn this is a fun record. Seriously, you want a review? There it is in a nutshell.

What can I say, the Hilotrons make the type of upbeat, infectious music that makes wordy bastards like me just want to shut up and enjoy. Their Latest release, Happymatic (out today on Kelp Records) is so full of catchy and uplifting jaunts that I actually started giggling the first time I put it on. In fact, I was going to simply make this one of my weekly song posts, as I can’t get enough of “Lovesuit,” but there were just so many other great tracks that I had to give the album a larger mention.

Wasting no time, Happymatic starts strong right out of the gate with “Lost in Yichang,” a bouncy, clap-along number that assures that you’ll be listening to this album again. Other highlights include the laser-beam reggae of “Dominika” and the forceful confidence of “Emergency Street,” not to mention the amusing backup vocals (I’d love to see the Hilotrons cover Baltimora’s “Tarzan Boy”…I mean it) and mid-song burst of dramatic and deep-voiced spoken word. Of course, for me it all comes back to the quirky charm of “Lovesuit,” complete with the “Old Man River”-esque background humming—seriously, I can’t stress this song enough, even if I have to mention it every paragraph.

It’s funny, initially I couldn’t help but compare the Hilotrons to the catchy hooks of Ottawa’s Clark, only to find that they share two members (albeit, Clark is now defunct, but their sophomore album, The Woods, is still excellent). Also, let it be a compliment to lead-singer Mike Dubue that his confident vocals are reminiscent of Hey Rosetta!’s Tim Baker on endorphin overload. Of course, comparisons really don’t matter when the music is this much fun (and “Lovesuit” is just that).

All told, my biggest complaint with Happymatic is that album closer, “Teen Dreams,” ends a bit abruptly, as I was hoping the album might go out with a bigger bang. That said, it’s all the more reason to restart the whole thing from the beginning (”LOVESUIT”!).

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Here are a couple of tracks from Happymatic:

Hilotrons - Dominika

Hilotrons - Emergency Street

Hear more at the Hilotrons’ Myspace page or grab a digital copy of the album here.

Also, catch the party live, as the Happymatic CD release is at the Horseshoe on April 10 where the Hilotrons will be joined by both The Sunparlour Players and Andy Swan (incidentally, the Hilotrons do an awesome cover of the former’s “If the Creeks Don’t Rise”).