Erol Oz - Happy
Alternative/Alt. Rock, Folk, Pop
Florida, United States
Overall Impression: Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. It can drive us to revisit past moments of glory, or to feel the regret of missed opportunities and wonder what might have been. However, Florida's Erol Oz explores the more positive aspects of nostalgia in his song Happy. A lovely, whimsical slice of looking back and reminiscing on simpler times. When the world was a lot bigger and you felt like you could accomplish anything (before the sad, cold realities of well... reality, settle in during adulthood). Happy explores this sense of returning to a more wondrous time of our lives, but it also provides a positive message for those of us going through the pangs of nostalgia. Sometimes all it takes to get lost in that world, is to simply tune out of modern life. Turn off the TV, power down your phone, ignore the news. Go outside and enjoy the natural beauty of the world around you. Erol Oz's singing and songwriting recall many of today's modern acoustic pop singer-songwriters, but also bring to mind vintage Tin-Pan Alley songwriting from the classic Vaudeville era. There's even a slight nod to Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy here, during the bridge.
Strongest Point(s): Erol's vocals are really strong with a nice tenor range. He manages to deliver each line with a longing for those forgotten hazy summer days. And the music he has crafted floats along on a perfectly mellow acoustic guitar and shuffling jazz beat that is equally pleasing to the ear.
Target Audience Appeal: Adults longing for their childhood memories are the obvious target for this song. But this track could definitely appeal to fans of classic Hot Jazz, Ragtime, Hawaiian Swing, and other pre-Great Depression era styles. And of course the modern day Indie-Folk, Twee and even Baroque-Pop fans might really enjoy this song too. I could also, easily see this synced into commercials, all ages TV shows and films.
Artist target suggestions: Sufjan Stevens, Django Reinhardt, Andrew Bird, Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, Irving Berlin, The Antlers, Beirut, The Decemberists, The Lumineers, Al Jolson, Fleet Foxes, Broken Social Scene, The Civil Wars, etc.
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About the Reviewer:
Joshua A. Pfeiffer is a music nerd who spends countless hours researching music, and creating public playlists and DJ mixes, to spread awareness of emerging musicians and to highlight the wonderful world of music history. Josh has a deep affection for most genres and eras of music, is an active, professional, award-winning DJ (DJ FACT.50 - Best of the Bay 2019 ~ SF Weekly), twitch streamer, amateur audio engineer and working musician. As founder, lead singer, and co-songwriter of the band Vernian Process, Josh has over 15 years of experience in the music industry. And for nearly a decade, was the owner and head writer for the online community post-punk.com.