Barcelona leader Emanuel Lundgren sounds quite cheerful on 2011’s Forever Today. Unlike the strong wave of melancholia pervading Who Killed Harry Houdini?, Forever Today is packed with upbeat tunes that suggest Lundgren and his overly-large band (over 20 members) are interested in summer breezes, beach blankets and anything that suggests an easeful way of living. “Charlie Parker” kicks things off with an extra punch. “Get In Line” follows with extra dance beats. “Battleships” is built to clap along in celebration. The piano notes of “Always Spring” trace a playful sketch that sounds like Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band inhaling cotton candy. Even the more sedate material (“Can See Miles,” “Game Is On,” “Forever Today”) has an optimism lurking. The demented waltz, “Dr. Landy,” presumably about Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s former therapist, keeps things arty and off-balance. While “There Is No Sun” is hardly the kiss-off to the world that its title might suggest. Where Who Killed Harry Houdini? was an intriguing, somber reflection on the difficulties of life, Forever Today is a reversal of fortune.