I’m going to introduce you to the happiest band I know: The Mowgli’s.
The first time I heard the Los Angeles-based ensemble was in the summer in 2013. I was driving and listening to Alt Nation on Sirius XM when they introduced “San Francisco” by The Mowgli’s. Their upbeat indie-folk sound immediately caught my attention and as soon as the gang vocals began with “I’ve been in love with love,” I wanted to dance.
Most of their songs are love songs, some of my favorites being “Say It, Just Say It” from 2013’s “Waiting for the Dawn”, “Whatever Forever” from 2015’s “Kids in Love”, and “Summertime” released as a single in 2015.
The lyrics to “Say It, Just Say It” always make me want to profess my love to someone, even if I have absolutely no one to do that to. Front man Colin Dieden sings, “You make me feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life/And I could die/To find that simple kind of love you can’t deny/Just say it!”
But not all the songs are about love. The 2015 single “There’s Room for All of Us” was released to raise awareness and donations for The International Rescue Committee, which supplies aid and support to refugees all over the world who have been displaced due to conflict or war. All proceeds from the song went to the Committee.
Other tracks are simply about being content with life and being happy with how you are living today! “Bad Dream” is the perfect example, with the hook exclaiming, “You only get what you put into this life/So how could anybody be living in a bad dream?”
The best thing about the quirky, happy sound of The Mowgli’s is that all of their songs make me feel like that. Every song makes me want to get up and be positive. Even the song entitled “Make It Right” off of “Kids In Love” puts a smile on my face, despite it being about understanding that sometimes just because there is love between two people does not mean that they should be together. The attitude of the song is understanding and uplifting where it could be angry and upset, and that attitude rubs off on me when I listen to it.
So you can see why, when I go to make my morning playlists on Spotify, I always begin with The Mowgli’s. This type of sound is what I want to wake up with, and my go-to is always “I’m Good”. The purpose of this song is to be happy with who you are and loving yourself despite what other people may be saying or thinking.
“You only live once/I’m good with myself/I’m there for my friends/Until the very end”
You can see The Mowgli’s this Fall as they travel the United States on their “Where’d Your Weekend Go Tour.”