Toxic Happiness (12" EP)

Tāmaki Makaurau's Echo Children return with their sophomore EP "Toxic Happiness", pressed to vinyl in this first edition, limited to 100 copies. The pressing includes bonus tracks "Dust Bowl" and "Volcanoes", which were recorded during the Toxic Happiness sessions, and have long been favourites in Echo Children's live shows.

Oliver Young's sharp alt-country songwriting shines throughout the track list, backed by the band's haunting psychedelic-pop harmonies. Building on their 2017 release "This Was Our Fault", the three-piece have honed their sound with help from engineer and producer Vivek Gabriel. Niamh O'Flynn and Amanda Larsson drive the songs forward with a dose of indie flare on the drums and bass guitar, on top of which Young's reverb-soaked guitars and the trio's vocals are given space to shine. Lead singles "Flowerbeds" and "Our Parents Fixed It All" received glowing reviews in local media, with muzic.net.nz declaring them "beguiling... bitter-sweet... as alluring as they are elusive to define."