I Want That You Are Always Happy

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I Want That You Are Always Happy is the debut studio album by Australian folk band The Middle East, released in Australia and New Zealand through Spunk Records on 8 April 2011. The album was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Mark Myers. Only one single, "Hunger Song", was released for the album. The album debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Australian Album Charts and remained on the charts for five weeks.

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Writing and recording

I Want That You Are Always Happy was produced between tours in three studios over the course of 2010: Mark Myers' Townsville studio in late 2009/early 2010. Midlake's Denton Studios in March/April 2010. Mark Myers' Cairns studio, from August to November 2010. The album was recorded, mixed and co-produced by Mark Myers. Mark Myers' Cairns studio was built by the band and it was where they recorded a majority of the album.

The band members did consider self-producing the record however found they had a lack of experience and knowledge in production. Rohin Jones spoke about how the band was never pleased with the final product and kept restarting, which lead to them recording throughout the year: "we scrapped it and then tried it again and scrapped that and tried it again and scrapped that, so we've really pieced it together over time. And maybe that's just how we work and we haven't come to terms with it yet, but it's definitely not the best process for writing an album."

Jordan Ireland was critical about the album: "With this album I don't really feel like we nailed it, we're definitely falling into a lot of categories that've been done before and I don't feel like it's anything completely original or anything like that, but that's kind of the goal that we're heading towards."

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Reception

Sputnikmusic gave I Want That You Are Always Happy four stars out of five, stating that "the band is full of flexibility and aren't afraid to show that they are not just a one trick pony" and that "[m]any highlights are strung throughout the album, yet the staunch consistency is what pieces 'I Want That You Are Always Happy' together and gives it such distinct longevity".

The album has peaked at number 11 on the Australian Album Charts.