Happiness is near Leigh next month

Reflections on the state of the world and what can be done about it form the nub of Happiness is Near, the new album from Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders, who return to Leigh Sawmill Café on Saturday, October 12.

Songwriter Davidson and former Warratahs frontman Saunders say the title comes from a slogan spotted on Russian TV that was written on a wall behind a reporter in Odessa, which became a thread running through their latest collection of songs.

Rather than dwelling on any fears, doubts and stagnation that living through uncertain times can foster, the pair says Happiness is Near is a reminder to move, to think and to act, and that good times are still around the corner.

“I can’t work out if the world is changing or I am just standing still,” Saunders says. “In some ways, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I think people’s needs are the same – you can have the world you want. You don’t have to join anyone’s circus.”

Davidson says their love for, and view of, the world makes its way into their music, which he says for the new album is looser than usual – “less band, more reflective, more folky”.

“This was a quieter collection,” he says. “It was made in the living room. Just two guys with their guitars and their songs.”

A new single, Man of Few Words, was released last month and the full album will drop on vinyl, CD and digital on September 27.

Davidson and Saunders’ Sawmill appearance is just one of a handful of North Island shows supporting the album launch. It starts at 8pm and tickets cost $50 from https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/