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Victoria’s 64 Funnycars Return With College Cult Rock Favourite Happy Go Lucky
Photo Credit: Bob Hanhman
New Album Happy Go Lucky Releases May 27, 2026
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Public Stream Album May 27, 2026
Assets: Download Album / Art / Photos
Watch the Video for “I Don’t Mean To Be A Prude”
Key Tracks: 2. I Don’t Mean To Be A Prude (2:41) (MAPL/No Explicit Lyrics)
Genre Tags: Power Pop, Melodic Punk, College Rock, Jangle Pop, Indie Rock
RIYL: Buzzcocks, The Posies, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Young Fresh Fellows, Sloan
After decades out of print, 64 Funnycars’ cult college rock debut Happy Go Lucky finally returns May 27 through 604 Records. Originally released at the tail end of Canada’s late 80s campus radio boom, the record captured a band that never aimed for cool detachment or punk orthodoxy, instead leaning hard into melody, momentum and the simple thrill of making people move. Nearly four decades later, Happy Go Lucky still sounds remarkably alive in its looseness and charm.
The band formed in 1987 through UVic campus radio circles, bonded by a shared love of groups like Young Fresh Fellows, Hoodoo Gurus, Buzzcocks and The Replacements, bands where hooks and personality mattered just as much as volume. While much of Victoria’s reputation at the time centered around heavier and more abrasive acts, 64 Funnycars carved out their own space, blending power pop, melodic punk and jangly college rock into something energetic, playful and unpretentious. Songs moved fast, choruses arrived early and the energy always felt slightly on the verge of tipping over.
That unpredictability became central to the band’s identity at Harpo’s, the legendary Victoria venue that helped define the Pacific Northwest underground touring circuit through the 80s and early 90s. Long before they became festival headliners, bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Blind Melon and No Doubt came through the room, and the Funnycars quickly became part of that same ecosystem. Their sets thrived on joyful chaos: no fixed setlists, rotating lead vocals and an anything-can-happen atmosphere that made even local shows feel electric. The band later joked that they were “the chess club on tour,” a line that captured both their self-awareness and total lack of rock-star pretension.
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That same spirit carried into the recording sessions for Happy Go Lucky, tracked over a single weekend at Seattle’s Egg Studios with producer Conrad Uno, whose work with The Posies, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney and The Presidents of the United States helped shape the era’s underground sound. The process was intentionally barebones. Harmonies were sung together around one microphone, tracks were captured nearly live and the band spent nights sleeping in their van and washing up in Green Lake between sessions. Rather than sanding down the rough edges, the recordings preserved them.
Nearly four decades later, tracks like “The Barbeque Party,” “Flat World” and “Dull Daddy-O” still move with the same bright momentum that made the band stand out on college radio playlists and packed club bills alike. Chiming guitars, driving tempos and deeply instinctive songwriting give the album its pulse, while the three vocalists constantly shift the mood from ragged and funny to unexpectedly sincere. There’s nostalgia in hearing it now, but the album never sounds trapped by its era.
When Happy Go Lucky first landed, the band toured throughout Western Canada, earned regular CBC Radio play, climbed to #5 on the national campus charts and were voted Victoria’s best band in 1989. Reissued now through 604 Decades, the album feels less like a relic than a reminder of a time when independent music communities were built face-to-face in clubs, record stores, campus stations and borrowed vans. Sometimes great bands don’t arrive polished or strategic. Sometimes they just show up loud, melodic, funny and completely themselves.
Upcoming Live Show Dates:
Sat, July 25 @ The Fox in Vancouver
For press inquiries, interviews, and review copies, please reach out.
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