0462. Happy Mondays
Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches

The third album by Madchester greats Happy Mondays sees the band going more for the conventional song structures than on the predecessor, and while it maybe created a more accessible album, it's a bit of a downer.

What's really annoying though is that more of the house in their acid house starts to peek through, and while the house-influences doesn't really get obnoxious until the house-piano gets a prominent place in the single Step On, it's still not good for the album.

Also, the move to housify Step On actually only serves to highlight the fact that the track before it, Bob's Yer Uncle, is a (nearly) hidden gem on the album. A gem I can't really understand they didn't put out as the lead single. The suggestive music and Ryder's low dirty old man-vocals would have sent it straight to number ten, at least.