Music Review: Glenn Tilbrook, Happy Endings

By Melissa Bratcher

Not everyone can write a song about the News International phone hacking scandal and make it sound jaunty. Glenn Tilbrook, however, can and did.

On his fifth non-Squeeze album Happy Endings, Tilbrook took a different approach—going acoustic. The result is a warm, witty, sometimes slight album (but what does Glenn Tilbrook have to prove at this point? The man can rest on his clever laurels all he wants.) that is always engaging. It’s a lovely sounding album, as well, with lush strings and clever percussion.

His voice is still distinctive, if perhaps occasionally rough around the edges. “Persephone,” a bittersweet song about lost idealism, is a sonic dead ringer for “Friday On My Mind” by the Easybeats, but with evocative timpani and percussive strings. There’s an abundance of song titles that are names here: the aforementioned “Persephone,” “Ray,” “Rupert,” “Dennis,” “Peter,” and “Kev and Dave,” which is just curious. They’re little snapshots, wee movies about these people. “Ray,” who is “becoming a footnote in his own dream” is buoyed by chiming guitar and clockwork quiet bongos. “Rupert” is the most melodic song in the world about the phone hacking awfulness, and a much nicer sounding song than those people deserve. “Dennis,” the “flat-topped, hard-nosed kid from Hawthorne who everybody always wanted to be” (and who happened to be Beach Boy Dennis Wilson) is string laden, but the strings are used to a fine effect, not at all schmaltzy.

On the percolating “Mud Island,” a witty reminiscence of childhood, Tilbrook goes to dhol beats and sitars (and a kazoo solo) to add an unexpected flavor. “Everybody Sometimes” is a sunny and uplifting song about the banking crisis and those who tried to absolve themselves of responsibilities.

Tilbrook’s children join him on the oddly sweet nursery rhyme “Bongo Bill,” with harmonies galore and glockenspiel. The album wraps up with the sing along silliness of “Ice Cream.”

Happy Endings is a curious album. It’s quiet and melodic; it’s part family album, part news program. Glenn Tilbrook has the kind of voice that’s like a warm duvet and a cup of tea. Anything he sings is automatically elevated, even if it is a song about Rupert Murdoch.

Happy Endings was released June 3 by Anchor and Hope Music.

Tour Dates:
Tue Sep 23: Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Thu Sep 24: New York, NY – City Winery
Fri Sep 25: New York, NY – City Winery
Mon Sep 29: Annapolis, MD – Rams Head Tavern
Tue Sep 30: Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
Wed Oct 1: Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Thu Oct 2: Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar
Sat Oct 4: Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall – 1884 Lounge
Sun Oct 5: Dallas, TX – The Kessler Theater
Mon Oct 6: Austin, TX – The Roost
Thu Oct 9: Los Angeles, CA – The Mint
Fri Oct 10: San Francisco, CA – Brick & Mortar (early show)
Sun Oct 12: Denver, CO – Solid Dove
Mon Oct 13: Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar
Wed Oct 15: Chicago, IL – City Winery
Thu Oct 16: Evanston, IL – SPACE
Fri Oct 17: Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Sun Oct 19: Pittsburg, PA – Hard Rock Cafe
Fri Oct 24: Riverhead, NY – Suffolk Theater