''Happy Now'' is the ninth studio album by English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

band Gang of Four, self-released on 19 April 2019, and their most recent album as of 2022. The release has received mildly positive reviews. It is the band's final album before the 2020 death of guitarist

Andy Gill Andrew James Dalrymple Gill (1 January 1956 – 1 February 2020) was a British musician and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the rock band Gang of Four, which he co-founded in 1976. Gill was known for his angular, jagged style of g ...

, who was then the only original band member, though in 2021 Gang of Four re-united with two of four original members.

Critical reception

The editorial staff of

AllMusic Guide AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album four out of five stars, with reviewer Mark Deming writing, "this is taut, effective music that honors Gang of Four's heritage but succeeds on its own terms". In '' Under the Radar'', Mischa Pearlman's review praises the music's social and political relevance, giving it a seven out of 10.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted: #"Toreador" – 3:34 #"Alpha Male" – 4:33 #"One True Friend" – 4:24 #"Ivanka: 'My Name's on It'" – 3:52 #"Don't Ask Me" (Andy Gill, John "Gaoler" Sterry) – 3:41 #"Change the Locks" (Andy Gill,

Catherine Mayer Catherine Mayer (born 24 January 1961) is an American-born British author and journalist, and the co-founder and President of the Women's Equality Party (WE) in the UK. Early life Mayer was born in the US and later became naturalised as Brit ...

) – 4:07 #"I'm a Liar" – 4:09 #"White Lies" (Andy Gill, Catherine Mayer) – 3:43 #"Paper Thin" (Andy Gill, Catherine Mayer) – 3:38 #"Lucky" – 4:40

Personnel

Gang of Four *

– guitar, vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, artwork *Tobias Humble – drums on "Toreador", "Ivanka: 'My Name's on It'" and "Lucky" *Thomas McNeice – bass guitar on "Alpha Male", "One True Friend", "Change the Locks", "I am a Liar" and "Paper Thin" Additional personnel *Natalie Alexis Duncan – backing vocals on "Lucky" *Lawrie Dunster – mastering *Jonny Finnigan – drums on "Alpha Male", "Change the Locks" and "Paper Thin" *

Ben Hillier Ben Hillier is an English songwriter and pop-rock record producer who is part of the creative team 140 dB. He produced the notable albums ''Playing the Angel'', ''Sounds of the Universe'' and ''Delta Machine'' by Depeche Mode, ''Think Tank ...

– bass guitar on "Toreador", mixing on "Toreador" and "Lucky", production on "Toreador", "Ivanka: 'My Name's on It'" and "Lucky" *Amy Love – backing vocals on "Alpha Male", "One True Friend", "Ivanka: 'My Name's on It'" and "White Lies" *

– mixing on "One True Friend", "Change the Locks", "White Lies" and "Paper Thin"; production on "One True Friend", "Change the Locks", "White Lies" and "Paper Thin" *Rhys Oakes – programming on "Alpha Male" and "Ivanka: 'My Name's on It'" *Ross Orton – bass guitar on "Don't Ask Me"; mixing on "Alpha Male", "Ivanka: 'My Name's on It'" and "I'm a Liar"; production on "I'm a Liar" *Jane Sasseen – vocal sampling on "Alpha Male" *Leigh Smiler – artwork *Rebeka Ubuntu – backing vocals on "Lucky"

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2019 albums Albums produced by Andy Gill Self-released albums Gang of Four (band) albums Albums produced by Ben Hillier