The Happy Fits, “What Could be Better” exceeds expectations
By Matthew Villanueva, Features Editor
Founded in 2016, “The Happy Fits” created their band just for kicks whilst releasing their debut EP, “Awfully Appealin.” The cover flaunted a personified and cartoonish banana with a yellow background. The EP contained four songs and currently has been listened to over 4 million times.
The trio of Rutgers graduates has a unique sound with Ross Monteith on guitar, Luke Davis on drums and Calvin Langman singing lead vocals while playing the cello. Langman’s cello gives the band an unparalleled tone that cannot be produced by a standard bass.
The indie-rock band’s debut album, “Concentrate,” was released in 2018 and was described by Atwood Magazine as, “A euphoric eruption of energy and passion, Concentrate is the debut album every band aspires to release. It’s a perfect oasis of rock and folk warmth, spanning a full spectrum of sounds and stories as The Happy Fits strut their stuff.”
Each tune, while traditionally framed, contains their own eclectic sound with smooth harmonies, prosaic songwriting and slick rifts, they can only be described as exceptional.
Fast forward to Aug. 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, The Happy Fits released their sophomore album, “What Could be Better.”
The LP is currently listed fourth on Billboard for “New Albums.” The band, which has been compared in the past to the likes of the early Beatles, Vampire Weekend and Young the Giant, did not miss a beat following the success of their earlier two projects.
The 29-minute album opens with three pre-released singles, “Go Dumb,” “No Instructions” and “Moving.” Each of these early singles reminisces the sound of their previous works while treating the audience to an unapologetic introduction to a half-hour masterpiece full of unequivocal poetry, catchy refrains, unrequited love and a battle with the human condition.
“No Instructions,” tells the story of an adrift friendship, leaving one bewildered. Langman sings in the chorus, “I have no idea, no instruction, I’m freaking out. I have no real answer, only questions, I’m waiting for my mind to go to sleep so I can get some peace.” He continues, “I just want to go to sleep again, dream about a time when we were friends.”
Despite the somber lyrics, coupled with the upbeat E Major key, the trio creates a catchy tune that seems to gloss over the loss of a friend.
The first previously unreleased song from the album comes clean with “Two of Many,” which narrates a jubilant start to a new relationship. Described in the chorus, “We’re two of many in love.”
The following song, “The Garden,” tells a tale of how much a person can grow with the right person. It is introduced with a soft and simple 1-3-1-5 plucking that is maintained for the remainder of the song. The refrain chants, “So if I lay down, and let the roots grow round, would it make me whole again? And if barren wood, could touch this ground, oh flower it would.”
“The Garden” is followed by “Hold me Down,” a lullaby of power chords serenades the audience with an affirmation of internal peace with the help of love. The chorus repeats, “Hold me down tight when I’m losing my mind, you tied a tether here to keep me close… Hold me down tight when I’m losing my mind, I know you’d hate to see me float.”
Succeeding the songs of growth and benefits of a close relationship, “She Wants Me (To Be Loved)” tells a story of unrequited love. With the title split up, the audience is given all they need to understand the unanswered love Langman is crooning about.
With the first verse consisting of only Langman’s arpeggiated cello and vibrato he sings, “You say you love me, but not the way I need, things are so close to what I want to be.” He continues with the refrain, “Oh, oh, she wants me to be loved, oh, oh she really really does. I can’t stop feeling, I want her love, but all my dreaming is not enough. But in the morning, the sun will rise, and I’ll wake up and she won’t be mine.”
The theme of unreturned love continues on the next track “Sailing.” Monteith arpeggiated a 1-2-3-3 on the guitar that is maintained throughout the piece. As the duo harmonizes the thrill of chasing after love they duet in the chorus, “It’s been so long since I’ve had a friend, it’s been so long, why can’t we just pretend.”
The album concludes with the title track, “What could be better.” Led by a driving beat, the entire band harmonized until a refrain of repeating, “Mr. Bartender, how I love thee, would you be so proud of me.” The album ends on a final power chord, concluding the project on a bang.
Full of extraordinary harmonies, prosaic writing and satisfying instrumentals, to answer “The Happy Fits” overshadowing question, “What could be better?”
Another album.
villanjv18@bonaventure.edu
