The Crustaceans take sweet pop hooks, driving rock energy, dabblings in country, and pure songwriting craft – and they throw it all together to make quirky but catchy songs that still sound great the third time around.

The Sydney four-piece has been around for 4 years, gathering fans with their zany live shows, and also with their limited-release self-produced eps, which used to sell for 2 bucks a pop at their gigs. Maybe it was the price, maybe it was the songwriting genius on the discs, but those little eps achieved somewhat of a cult status around town, and led to airplay on radio FBI, 2SER and on Triple J\'s Super Request. In 2004, they were collected and re-released on one LP, The Early Crustaceous Period.

Since then, the boys have been working on a debut album proper. It was recorded at The Loft, a little known studio at Balmoral Beach, NSW, and the sunny recording environment can be easily felt on the bright, positive parts of I\'m Happy If You\'re Happy.

But are The Crustaceans actually happy? Tracks like Summer Heat or the self-affirmed Caribou might suggest so, but there is another side to the record, like the soft and delicate country lament What I Miss Most and the eternal dissatisfaction of The Ambulance Driver, which illustrate this darker side, where the mood takes a turn towards introspection.

I\'m Happy If You\'re Happy is out Feb 2006 through Popboomerang Records. But Popboomerang mailorder customers can buy the album NOW!

Tracklisting:
1. Telecaster
2. Summer Heat
3. Caribou
4. Out of the Library and into the Street
5. Tumbledog
6. What I Miss Most
7. The Heavy Metal Temptress
8. Mary
9. Dexy\'s Midnight Questions
10. The Ambulance Driver
11. Winter in Hawaii

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Reading about the cult status of their series of self released EPs, I kinda expected a bit more. Still, if you’re looking for catchy pop songs, with well-crafted vocal harmonies, you shouldn’t be dissapointed with this one. What they’re the best at, are the semi-acoustic Belle&Sebastian-like folky pop tunes such as “Summer heat” or “Out of the library and into the street”, while they’re just as capable of delivering some just as gentle country breezed Americana, as heard in “What I miss most” and “Winter in Hawai”, and sometimes, they opt for a cool combination of the two, as in “The heavy metal temptress”. With “Caribou” and “Tumbledog” they reach the complete opposite, crunching out some Weezer-ish melodic noise, and it’s the quirky little fuzzy riffin’ of “Dexy’s midnight questions” which I’d chose as my personal fave.
So, even though you might not be jumpin’ for joy, I’m sure you’d be more than happy to enjoy some of the Crustaceans’ happiness.

Goran Obradovic / POPISM radio show; Serbia & Montenegro

This Australian band dabbles in a few different musical approaches, letting their clever lyrics and cheery nature hold things together. This is engaging and laid back pop music. One of the more rocking numbers is the ultra-simplistic "Caribou", which is an ode to being Canadian. Whether any member of this quartet is actually Canadian, I do not know, but they all now deserve honorary citizenship for this rocking frolic. The band marries a tried-and-true rock riff with a new wavey keyboard and harmonica on another basic and catchy tune, "Tumbledog".

Aussie power pop meets a kind of Weezer-ish vibe on the bouncy opener "Telecaster". As fun as these numbers are, I love the more reflective material at the end of the disc. "The Ambulance Driver" is a forlorn number which is all sad acoustic strum, with a strong lead guitar part providing a more aggressive, yet complimentary, emotional pull. This reminds me of the softer side of Ben Kweller.

This is followed by the winsome "Winter in Hawaii", which is a Pacific Island lullaby. A very engaging piece of work.

Mike Bennet www.fufkin.com

It's nice to see a full length album from this group, as I really enjoyed 'em when I featured them as a Demo of the Week a couple years back - and they sound loads better now! Always with his finger on the pulse of Aussie pop of all flavors, Scotty at Popboomerang snapped this group up, although they could've fit perfectly on Candle Records, alongside the Lucksmiths & the Mabels, as this band shares a lot of the same qualities with those bands both in their music and lyrics. The songs are mostly acoustic-based (although with plenty of electric guitar accompaniment), and alternate between upbeat (like "Summer Heat", "Mary" and the opener, "Telecaster", with its silly lyrics about their great love for that instrument) and slower, country-influenced tunes (like the literate "Out Of The Library And Into The Street" and the enchanting "What I Miss Most"). The band does stumble a few times, though: "Caribou" is a bit too "indie rock" and doesn't really fit in with the rest of the record, while the last two songs on the album are just plain dull. Still, this is a great album, with quite a few delightful tunes to hum along to!

Chris Mac www.indiepages.com

Dunno what it is about those Aussies but they always seem to turn a clever phrase whether it be the Go-Betweens or the Cat’s Miaow or the Lucksmiths or any number of others. Not only that, but they always seem to make smart n’ super-hooky indie pop and add the Crustaceans name to that list. These guys either nail the melodic with tunes like “Summer Heat” or the opening ebullient “Telecaster” or the simple, more acoustic-based tunes (like the slightly country “Out of the Library and into the Street”). Suffice it to say, if you’ve read this far then! you have already made up your mind about this bunch.

Tim Hinley http://www.indiepages.com/dagger/reviews

To start, a clarification: This quartet, based in Sydney, Australia, is not the same group as a trio called the Crustaceans that tore up the southeast music scene in the 1990s. It would have been nice if that group had made it, but some solace can be had that this incarnation of the Crustaceans makes pretty good music, too.
Toby Blackman, Vijay Khurana, Owen Cooper, and Simon Robert Berckelman have been together since 2001. I'm Happy If You're Happy is their second album; their first, The Early Crustaceous Period, collects the self-produced EPs on which their rep was built. These songs evoke the balmy, bucolic settings in which they were written and recorded, and their use of imagery is rather advanced for such young men.
"Telecaster" opens things up-tempo, introducing the listener right off to the group's sense of humor: "I wish that I were a tree / So I could be cut down by the Fender company". The album's first half stays in that mode, with vivid characterizations and little of the self-consciousness and snark that has come to typify the pop-rock genre. The guitar sound on "Caribou" calls to mind "Friends of P", and its hook, "I was born in Canada / I was born in Montreal", could double as a Quebecois anthem.

Romance is the theme of "Out of the Library and into the Street", achieving a nearly Frente-like sweetness without crossing over into the twee. On "What I Miss Most", that line is crossed. "The Heavy Metal Temptress" presents a tale of young love in a cynical age, reminiscent of They Might Be Giants with its cheeky wordplay and "sunny" chorus: "It's all right / I like your piercings / It's all right / You like my Porkers t-shirt / It never rains in Sydney / It never rains in Sydney". It's one of the album's most effective songs.

"The Ambulance Driver" has substantial crossover potential, but at nearly seven minutes, it's unlikely to make commercial radio. Their loss is college radio's gain. The narrator is watching the world from the perspective of one who delivers others from their suffering, but is growing jaded as time goes by: "Everybody's holding on with just one hand / Peeling grapes and singing sad, sad songs / I'm driving in the daytime with my headlights on / The siren doesn't bother me, but now I'm kind of used to it". A slow build and rising drums into an almost sincere-sounding guitar solo underscores the drowsy ambivalence of the lyric: "I've got blood on the soles of my shoes / But I'll still be out there on the line tonight / A diuretic conversation about the Doppler Effect / And I've just got to quit this band so I'll have time to play guitar again".

This music is not going to blow anyone away, but the writing and execution are smart enough to stand out in a genre that can sometimes be glutted with groups that look alike and sound alike. It's heartening to note that the vocals gain in strength and confidence as the album moves briskly through its 40 minutes. Fans of early R.E.M., Yo La Tengo, the Breeders, etc. should definitely give this album a shot. And, yes, if you like the original Crustaceans, you will like these Crustaceans as well.

by Shelton Hull- 20 February 2006 www.popmatters.com

Australian only release, a most fascinating blend of many styles of modern music. You have the classic Australian jangle pop ones(Go-Betweens) but then you have some They Might Be Giants alongside Weezer and The Strokes. Each song brings a different flash of color, style and inspiration with 11 songs here. And the good news: it works across the board! In fact, Weezer fans who have been doused with two mediocre records from Mr. Cuomo would be well advised to point the band to "Caribou" here, the best Weezer song we`ve heard in 10 years. But right after that one, you have the gentle, earthy acoustic strumming of the Jonathan Richman-via-Robert Forster(Go-Betweens) warmth on "Out Of the Library And Into The Street". Later on "The Heavy Metal Temptress" one finds jittery, hyperactive and raw acoustic folk-rock that only Gordon Gano/Violent Femmes can pull off well. And The Crustaceans do with ease. The Crustaceans take sweet pop hooks, driving rock energy, dabblings in country, and pure songwriting craft and they throw it all together to make quirky but catchy songs that still sound great the third time around. There`s some moody, alt-country pop that pops up on a few tracks, but genius that "I`m Happy If You`re Happy Is" it makes perfect musical sense in the sequencing of the boppy, happy songs that appear elsewhere. It`s a band finding their footing for a style that they are most comfortable with, arguably, but it is their debut and this kind of exploration is exciting to listen to and to ponder as some really, really good things are, certainly, coming on the horizon. That said, this is every bit an very, very strong debut and very highly recommended. Bruce Brodeen Notlame Records

THE CRUSTACEANS - I’m happy if you’re happy (Pop Boomerang; 2005)
Power-pop fuzz seemed all the rage in the 1990s, but in the wake of the likes of the Strokes and the White Stripes reinvigorating rock 'n roll, it faded into the backgroup. Sydney four-piece specialise in the buzz-saw guitar pop familiar to anyone who grew up in the 1990s.

You're never quite sure where the influence is actually drawn from; it could be the Pixies, Ratcat, or Nirvana. The other clear influence is also Perth hero to the children of the 1990s, Jebediah – you can hear it in the pop style, and especially the vocals. The pop quotient is high throughout I'm Happy If You're Happy, and on occasions they absolutely nail it.

The Crustaceans are, based on I'm Happy If You're Happy, at their best when slowing it down and spreading it out – "Summer Heat" is a delightful pop song, while the harmonica-inflected acoustica of "Out of the Library and into the Street" works well too. Songs like opener "Telecaster" and "Tumbledog" are perhaps too obvious, but they'll sure sound sweet on the car radio.

The Crustaceans aren't reinventing the wheel on I'm Happy If You're Happy. But songs like "Dexy's Midnight Questions" and others mentioned above certainly indicate that they'll go far – this album merely hints at a Youth Group-like progression for growth. Now it's just a matter of finding a voice that's all their own.

http://www.theelectricnewspaper.com/

The Crustaceans were runners-up in the 2004 University of Sydney band competition and have performed alongside an array of bands including Machine Gun Fellatio. Telecaster' is an upbeat feel-good track that'll get stuck in your head - and you'll be happy about it! What I Miss Most' has a slower pace with the delightful incorporation of a harmonica solo, while Caribou' has a heavier rock sound and tells tales of hunting Caribou with one's father every Sunday. Overall, it's an exciting single that's somewhat reminiscent of Ben Lee. (ET)

Time Off Magazine Brisbane

"Songs about guitars are generally to be avoided, though George Harrison did write quite a good one about a lachrymose six string - though whether it was a Tele or a Strat I'm not quite sure. I imagine the Crustaceans must have a good sense of humour given their name and the title of their song and certainly the little bits and pieces I caught of their lyrics. And this song is nothing if not good-natured.

But it does sound quite similar to certain contmeporary punk inspired American bands, which in my book means - black mark. However, its a jaunty little melody well serviced by some rocking grunt - so that's good - gold star. And the third tune has a lyrics that goes - "I was born in Canada", so that's cool to. Two gold stars, one black mark. Better than most." 3001/5000

Brag Magazine 31/10/05