Couple(t)s by Couldn’t Be Happiers
- GRAHAM
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 20
Couldn’t Be Happiers’ Couple(t)s is a collection of stories, sentiments, and sonic risks that come together like a well-crafted poem. Across twelve tracks split into thematic pairs—love songs, protest songs, and southern folklore—the North Carolina duo blurs the lines between tradition and invention, sincerity and satire, studio polish and front-porch grit. Built by married partners Jodi Hildebran Lee and Jordan Crosby Lee, the album is as intimate as it is expansive, a work rooted in personal connection that dares to wrestle with the sweeping issues of our time.
Opening with “Come Back Tomorrow,” the record bursts in with a jubilant New Orleans second-line rhythm that immediately signals the duo’s refusal to stay boxed into any single genre. It’s a track that pulses with urgency and hope, asking for another day not out of procrastination, but faith. “When I Die” follows as a sombre, melodic meditation, pairing stripped-down acoustic instrumentation with reflective lyrics about legacy, mortality, and grace. Together, they form Couple(t)s’ first love song pair, not in the romantic sense alone, but in the broader act of loving what’s ephemeral.
Then comes the quirky gut-punch of “Plastic Bag Odyssey (I’ll Never Die),” a protest song as absurd as it is profound. Told from the perspective of a grocery bag that refuses to decompose, it’s both funny and disturbing, an environmental anthem wrapped in surreal humour and musical mischief. “Tear It Down” counters with a more aggressive stance—thumping percussion, biting harmonica, and lyrics that pull no punches about the rot within modern institutions. This pair is Couple(t)s at its most politically potent, rage filtered through wit and harmony.
The folklore duo that closes Side A dives into the Southern Gothic. “Devil’s Trumping Ground” simmers with Appalachian eeriness, built around a local legend of a barren circle where nothing grows. “Pretty Polly,” a chilling ballad about betrayal and death, revives the traditional murder ballad form with raw emotion and modern urgency. These two tracks shimmer with storytelling depth, evoking dusty roadside attractions and ghost stories whispered on porches long after dark.
Flipping to Side B, we’re greeted with “King of Austin,” a twangy bluegrass romp about chasing dreams in the heart of Texas. Its energetic mandolin runs and clever lyricism contrast beautifully with “Wherever You Go,” a warm, heartfelt tribute to lasting love inspired by Jordan’s late father. This pairing, full of wanderlust and rooted wisdom, radiates a homespun comfort that few acts can achieve without sounding saccharine.
“Weatherman” and “I Got You” continue the album’s seesaw between weathered cynicism and grounding devotion. “Weatherman” forecasts social collapse with a wink and a shrug, its accordion flourishes adding ironic cheer to dark predictions. “I Got You,” by contrast, is stripped to its emotional core—a tender declaration of partnership and resilience. This is where the couple’s real-life bond shines most vividly, making music a communion.
The final folklore pair, “Brown Mountain Lights” and “Lydia’s Bridge,” closes the album on a note of mystery and myth. The former draws on tales of ghostly lights in the Carolina hills, buoyed by atmospheric production and ghostly harmonies. The latter is pure cinematic folklore, scaffolding a local vanishing hitchhiker story with industrial undertones that echo Portishead more than Pete Seeger. These tracks are haunting and hypnotic, encapsulating the album’s greatest ambition: to re-enchant the modern world through melody and myth.
Couple(t)s is a clever concept album and a deeply human document. It’s an ode to collaboration, to loving stubbornly, to grieving playfully, and to protesting creatively. Jodi and Jordan Lee have managed to turn their partnership into a living, breathing piece of art, one that listens as much as it sings. It’s rare to find a record so formally structured yet so emotionally free. Couple(t)s is a folk-rock album and a love letter to balance in a chaotic world.
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