Happy Family’s 4037 feels less like an EP and more like a triumphant phoenix rising from the embers of a decade-long silence. After touring behind Minimal Gods into near burnout, the Tokyo-born, Zeuhl-infused quartet vanished - only to reemerge at the invitation of Cuneiform Records’ 40th anniversary. Fittingly, 4037 marks “40” years of the label and “37” years of the band itself, a playful arithmetic that underpins both the record’s spirit of gratitude and its sly commentary on time’s elastic pull.

From the very first seconds of “Pygmalion”, with its muted-piano motif blossoming into a riot of sax squalls and angular keyboard lines, you sense a group reconnecting with its own DNA. It’s hard to believe these musicians hadn’t played together in ten years: every stutter-step rhythm and sudden surge feels instinctual, as though the hiatus never happened.

“Hypocrisy” turns the spotlight onto bassist Hidemi Ichikawa’s bruising riffs, driving the song forward on a dark, muscular groove that half-whispers questions of sincerity and contrition. Here, apology sounds lethal—an admission that even the gentlest post-rock can carry a raw edge.

Then comes Kenichi Morimoto’s “The Flying Man”, a jittery sky-pirouette of jittery synth cascades and quirky time-signature twists. It tip-toes between Henry Cow’s art-rock dissonance and Jaga Jazzist’s sleek Nordic shimmer, conjuring the wry surrealism of a Kobo Abe novel in harmonic form.

Finally, drummer Keiichi Nagase’s “Itchu” stands apart as a testament to 21st-century collaboration: each member recorded their part in isolation, then layered the results into a Zen-meets-circuit-bent tapestry. The result is at once meditative and delightfully unruly, a sonic séance that proves Happy Family’s spirit of invention remains undimmed.

Across just four tracks, 4037 balances heartfelt self-portraiture with the gentle absurdity of a band rediscovering its own chemistry. It’s a concise manifesto against stasis: proof that even after long silence, creative embers can reignite into something startlingly alive. For fans of the adventurous fringe - whether you worship Magma’s ancient lineage or crave the next twist in avant-prog - Happy Family’s 4037 is a miniature epic worth savoring.