Pitchfork

Every summer, the kids come out to play around the home of Broken Social Scene/Do Make Say Think's Charles Spearin, and the older folks hit the porch to visit. When the weather turns warm and the block brims over with juvenile joy and residential resplendence, Spearin gets inspired. For inspiration for his new solo album The Happiness Project, Spearin interviewed a number of neighborhood sorts young and old about the subject of happiness and did what he could to replicate the cadence of their answers on the disc.

The Happiness Project is due February 14 from Arts & Crafts, and Spearin brought in some expert help to craft the set. His fellow Scenesters Kevin Drew and Evan Cranley contributed to the project, as did his Do Make Say Think bandmates Ohad Benchetrit, Julie Penner and Justin Small. In fact, if you've seen Broken Social Scene recently, you might've heard some of the Project already, as Spearin's been playing some of the material at the band's shows.

On that note, Broken Social Scene hit the road early next year for a  bunch of shows. Make sure to peep the last sentence of Spearin's Wikipedia entry before you go.

The Happiness Project:

01 Mrs. Morris
02 Anna
03 Vittoria
04 Vanessa
05 Marisa
06 Mr. Gowrie
06 Mrs. Morris (Reprise)

BSS:

01-30 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
01-31 Austin, TX Bass - Concert Hall
02-02 Houston, TX - Numbers
02-04 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
02-05 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
02-06 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum *
03-06 Miami, FL - Langerado Festival

* with Tegan and Sara