The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte's editorial board.
It was a stroke of luck that I discovered New Jersey-based indie rock band The Happy Fits back in the fall of 2020. Fresh off the release of their second album, What Could Be Better, the then-three-piece band provided a fresh, bright sound in an incredibly dark time. Now, after five years and a significant roster shake-up, The Happy Fits delivers their fourth album, Lovesick, and I couldn’t love it more.
New Faces
Lovesick’s elephant in the room is the change in the band’s lineup. Since the last album, guitarist Ross Monteith has departed, and has been replaced by two new guitarists: Raina Mullen and Nico Rose. Expectedly, the band’s sound has evolved, but the changes haven’t stopped them from staying close to their roots. Nico and Raina both provide vocals for many tracks on the album, adding a welcome vocal variety to the band’s music. Similarly, the band’s long-time touring partners Phoneboy—whose newest album was released earlier this year—also included the addition of a new vocalist.
After the shake-up, The Happy Fits feel as dynamic as ever, with an overall warmer sound and production that fills in a greater sonic range, but at its core, the recipe is the same. Lovesick is still ripe with catchy upbeat melodies, creative use of strings, and an overall air of fun, just with a fresh coat of paint.
Fine Tuned
The Happy Fits have upped their game when it comes to instrumentation and production on this record. As mentioned earlier, the overall mix sounds a bit warmer and fuller, but individual parts have some stand-out improvement. Lead vocalist and cellist (yes, cellist) Calvin Langman is at his best here, melding orchestral strings into a familiar indie rock recipe so well that you may wonder why this instrumentation isn’t widely utilized across the genre. However, Langman’s cello isn’t the only dose of strings in this album, as multiple songs utilize a wider string arrangement, such as the album’s fifth single, “Black Hole.”
On an overall level, Lovesick sounds and feels grander and more mature. The Happy Fits have swapped quaint and charming production for a more mature and cinematic sound that paints a sweeping emotional landscape with enough love and yearning to be worthy of the record’s title. The album begins with “Do You See Me?” a slow, yearning ballad that gains momentum over time, going from a simple acoustic guitar and gradually ramping up into an ensemble-wide outburst.
Superb Songwriting
Instrumentation isn’t the only thing on Lovesick that has seen a level of maturation. The Happy Fits aren’t new to writing songs about love, but the lyricism on display here feels like their most creative and poignant yet. The single “Everything You Do” is a classically upbeat song about abundant infatuation, but is followed by "Cruel Power,” which tells the story of a one-sided love, even going so far as to allude to some amount of emotional manipulation, leading to a delightfully twisted tune.
Like “Do You See Me?” the track “Lovesick #1 (Misery)” is yet another yearning-filled ballad, led vocally this time by Mullen, with a wonderful escalating drum part from the band’s drummer, Luke Davis. The radiant emotions of these songs are elevated by stellar songwriting and fantastic vocal performances, and a more varied bunch of vocalists than before. The Happy Fits have created a varied batch of earworms lasting a whopping 50-minute runtime. That said, the slower ballads can begin to blend together at points on casual repeat listens despite their tremendous quality.
In Love with the Groove
At the end of the day, Lovesick feels like a transformative point for The Happy Fits. Some of their old tricks are traded for a newer and more refined sound, while still holding on to some of their past charm. While some new elements may grow a little repetitive at times, the album makes up for it with a heaping helping of heart through both upbeat indie rock jams and slow, sentimental ballads laced with the band’s signature sonic touch. Even genre cliches, like the addition of a voicemail at the end of “Superior,” feel fresh here.
Sources: Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, Instagram, Instagram, Instagram, Spotify, Instagram, Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, Spotify, Instagram, Spotify
Image Source: Spotify
Contact Ian Case with comments at ian.case@bsu.edu.
