Hifi Sean and David McAlmont connect Bollywood and 1989 Manchester on their brilliant, trippy album Happy Ending.
Sean Dickson and David McAlmont have a history
“Hifi” Sean Dickson comes directly from the Madchester era, a founder of 90’s fan favorite The Soup Dragons. If Scottish, Hifi Sean brings Manchester’s baggy sensibility to the songwriting, which he delicately marries to McAlmont’s textured, smoky vocals.
Hifi Sean may look more like an angry logger than musician! Just call it smoldering intensity — he’s an in-demand DJ and producer with a catalogue of his own solo material. He originally collaborated with McAlmont on Dickson’s 2016 solo debut Ft. McAlmont sang on “Like Josephine Baker.”
Hifi Sean and McAlmont kill on Happy Ending
Happy Ending opens with the title track’s soulful psychedelia on “Happy Ending.” Most of the songs stay in this smoother funk channel. Cuts like “The Fever” and Bollywood strings on “Beautiful” and “Diamond Dust” are better suited for Thursday night Threekend cocktails than the dancefloor.
Later comes “All in the World,” which is purer hot disco adrenalin.
Now check out the marriage of those disco beats with the swooning and outrageous “Real Thoughts in Real Time,” more Hot Chip than Manchester.
For different reasons, I loved just about every song on Happy Ending. Buy HiFi Sean’s debut Ft. and Happy Endings at Plastique Recordings‘ Bandcamp page.
McAlmont and Dickson (McHifi?) promise more tunes to come
Even better news than this year’s sparkling collaboration is the assertion that more is to come. You get a nice background on Hifi Sean’s journey and his connection to McAlmont in this profile in The Scotsman.
McAlmont has worked with a lot of talented musicians over the years. But he goes out of his way to say that he intends to make more records with Hifi Sean.
“…I want to reassure the audience that invest in Happy Ending that there’s more of us, that we’re not just gonna do this and then suddenly there I am next to somebody else – that’s not what this is and so the only way to prove that is to do the next album as soon as possible.”
The Scotsman Sessions #350
THAT is some good news!
The long road of Hifi Sean
We can’t possibly wrap this sparkling review without a quick flashback to The Soup Dragons‘ 1992 smash, “Divine Thing.” I spun this bubblegum power pop 1,000 times back in college at U92.
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