If The Killers and Dire Straits had a lovechild, this song would be it. "How To Buy Happiness" tells of a man on his journey to happiness by amassing money. There’s no simpler way to say it as Modern Guilt says it best, “if I had the money, oh yeah I’d be fine…”. It’s a fun song with a basic message.
As previously mentioned, it emulates a lot of Dire Straits’ Sultan of Swing, especially during the verses. However, it also does a lot of original styles that it distances itself from that direction. One could say that it feels fit for western / traveling music. The bass riff followed by the acoustic guitar really lends to the music genre they’re aiming for.
In fact, the song quite fits a traveling and driving soundtrack. With licks that sound like they’re taken straight from a western film, the very vibey nature of the song really sounds well.
The delivery of the lyrics also sounds very hip and cool—as if taken from the ‘90s setting. With the whole song being sung in a laid-back way, the song ends up creating a zone of its own where listeners will feel like they’re moving. It's such a trippy song that’s danceable while still keeping its rock-ish tone.
"How to Buy Happiness" is a masterpiece in production that takes you on a road to simplicity and fun.
Listen to "How to Buy Happiness" on Spotify here:
Check out Modern Guilt's website here: