Playing hard-edged power pop with the energy and bitter wit of such classic new wave acts as Elvis Costello, the Jam, and the Damned (but with a 21st century sense of speed and precision), the Happiness Factor are primarily the brainchild of Salim Nourallah, the pop-obsessive singer/songwriter who first gained fame with the considerably more mild-mannered Nourallah Brothers. With bassist and vocalist Nourallah joined by guitarists Paul Averitt and Steve Duncan and drummer John Jay Myers, the Happiness Factor released their debut album, Self-Improvement?, in 2001 on the Summer Break label. In 2003, Nourallah, Averitt, and Duncan went into Nourallah's Pleasantry Lane Studios with a handful of guest musicians to record their second full-length, Avoid Danger, which was released the following year by Paisley Pop. ~ Mark Deming