From the pun in the name, to the illusion of being unhappy in the album’s title, The Doubtful Sounds‘ songwriting pair of Matt Cawte and James Noble channel their intellects through their pens, both in words and melody. These songs contain more hooks than a trawler’s drag line, along with some clever and entertaining lyric writing. They remind me of my favourite ’90s-and-beyond Melbourne band The Lucksmiths, with touches of Dunedin’s Robert Scott in Bats’ mode. Cawte and Nobel manage to sing clever lyrics with their tongues in their cheeks, alongside beautifully composed guitar-based melodies, aided and abetted by Mark Howden on guitar and Rick Barr‘s drumming. If I have a criticism it’s one of length. ‘A Stone’s Throw From Happiness’ is a good album, but could have been awesome at just eight or nine tracks – one thing I loved about The Lucksmiths was that their albums left me wanting more…

http://thedoubtfulsounds.com/