{"id":27267,"date":"2025-10-23T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=27267"},"modified":"2025-10-17T12:21:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:21:55","slug":"the-happy-fits-lovesick-the-happy-fits-diamond-city-many-hats-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=27267","title":{"rendered":"The Happy Fits &#8211; \u2018Lovesick\u2019 (The Happy Fits\/ Diamond City\/ Many Hats Distribution)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-1140x1140.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/91LMoMCEKPL._AC_SL1500_.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Imagine Silver Ginger 5 hooks baked into a power pop or guitar pop band that utilises all band members providing lead vocals at times across 15 brilliant songs that each have their own identity but still sound like the same band\u2026 This isn\u2019t punk. It\u2019s not metal. It is one of the best albums of the year for me. The Happy Fits have been around for over 7 years, with their debut album dropping back in 2018. I had never heard of them until I saw the lead video for this new album. There were some line-up changes, and I believe this is the debut of this formation of the band. I have not yet dug into their previous material, but will in time. These 15 songs deserve their own time to shine and showcase what a diamond they have released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Happy Fits - Black Hole (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MDzoL04DDNY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Lovesick\u2019 starts with something of a curveball in the slow dreamlike \u2018Do You See Me?\u2019 where the band utilises adding layers to the song. The backing vocals are sublime, and the song becomes more powerful as it goes. \u2018Everything You Do\u2019 was the first song by the band I ever heard. It was a middle-of-the-night YouTube rabbit hole video that I put on repeat to hear it several times in a row. There is an Abba feel at the beginning, and the song just screams fun out of every pore. One of the cool things The Happy Fits have done to give them a unique sound is to replace the bass with a cello. Calvin Langman\u2019s playing gives a unique feel to the songs, and on \u2018Everything You Do\u2019 he sings with such reckless exuberance that the listener cannot help but smile. Add in the scream by Raina Mullen after the minute mark and her lead vocals near the end to make it a song that should have been a huge hit in the late spring. \u2018Cruel Power\u2019 was another early single and was something of a grower for me. So much so, it is now one of my favourites on the album. The vocals become the showcase for much of the song, and the rhythm through the verse works perfectly. This song can make the crowd at a club dance and the crowd at a live show jump up and down. The band\u2019s latest single, \u2018Lovesick #1 (Misery)\u2019 follows and is another brilliant song. The slow torch\/ ballad gives way to a rocker that again showcases the vocal power the band has with Mullen getting the lead for most of the song. An awesome guitar solo by Nico Rose elevates the song even further. \u2018The Nerve\u2019 ends side A of the first vinyl and initially felt like a runt in the litter, given the first four songs. Multiple listens, though, demonstrate this is another rocking gem with Langman confessing to a lover \u2018baby I\u2019m a piece of shit and I\u2019m the fucking worst.\u2019 It is another huge chorus, and the up-tempo beat gets the listener moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Happy Fits - Lovesick #1 (Misery) (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GFFhXCIXVNQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After the initial five songs, it may take you a little bit to flip the first album over to dig into the flipside, as you keep dropping the needle back down to hear the first batch again. When you do flip it to side B, you are greeted with the infectious \u2018Miss You\u2019. At times, it feels like the verses could have been something Blondie would have done, and the chorus is as huge as an IMAX screen with some \u201980s touches while still sounding current. This song is another one where the cello replaces the bass, giving the song a different, more cinematic feel. The gentle tempo of \u2018I Could Stare at You for Hours\u2019 provides an excellent touch and change of pace. As they did on the album opener, they utilise layering during the song to help it build, but here they utilise the build to let it all fall away and build again. The band pivot with \u2018Sarah\u2019s Song,\u2019 which has struck me from my first listen as something like the Beatles with the harmonies shining brightly. It is a beautiful pop song where the beat conjures up images of the band performing in a field of flowers while the lyrics subvert expectations with lines like \u2018and you know all the roses that bloom inside your mind, they all root from sordid sources and the thorns they leave behind.\u2019 The band turn up the tempo again with \u2018Shake Me\u2019 (not a Cinderella cover). This is another vocal showcase that gets the foot moving and will have the listener singing along to the chorus quickly. Closing out side B is the brilliant \u2018I Still Think I Love You.\u2019 This is an instant power pop classic. The hook in the pre-chorus is huge, and the chorus is even bigger. This became one of my favourite songs when I first heard the album, and nothing has changed in that regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third and final side of the vinyl has absolutely no let-up, with the previous single \u2018Wild in Love\u2019 getting it started. I have not spoken of Luke Graydavis on drums yet, but his playing across the album is stellar. Here, he also provides lead vocals. I love that all four members get to showcase their voices across the album. \u2018Wild in Love\u2019 has a different feel than the rest of the album, with a slightly electronic feel. The band get back to a pure rock approach on \u2018Black Hole\u2019 where the cello again provides some great riffs to add a hint of heaviness to the song. This is another early single and really gives an idea that the band knew they had recorded a classic album by putting two singles on the final side of the vinyl. \u2018Superior\u2019 brings back a torch song approach. The orchestration builds and builds throughout to deliver another excellent song. \u2018Wrong About Me\u2019 utilises a slow acoustic approach paired with a gorgeous melody. It would have been easy to make this the last song on the album, where it would end with this one really serving as a quiet note to draw the album to a close. If it were not such a great song, it could easily get lost on the album. The listener gets pulled into the song, and it sets up the epic closer \u2018I Remember.\u2019 The excellent guitar work by Mullen and Rose again showcased with the record mixed perfectly. The up-tempo beat is given time to manifest itself as everything in the song builds over the first two minutes. The vocal harmonies are beautiful throughout the song, and they end the album on arguably the best song on the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fifteen songs, not a miss in sight. Fifteen beautiful, killer songs that showcase a band where pure magic is happening. The chemistry in the band is so impactful, I expect to see it bleeding out of the vinyl as it plays. One of the reasons I have not explored the back catalogue yet us I cannot get enough of these 15 songs. This is also the first album with Nico and Mullen, so it feels like a debut album to me, as their marks are all over these songs. As I said at the top, this is not a punk or metal album. What it is thoug,h is an album of the year candidate filled with the sounds of rock, pop, power pop, and incredibly huge hooks. These songs are timeless and essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buy <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/46Wk2nP\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/46Wk2nP\">Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheHappyFits\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Author: Gerald Stansbury\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine Silver Ginger 5 hooks baked into a power pop or guitar pop band that utilises all band members providing lead vocals at times across 15 brilliant songs that each have their own identity but still sound like the same band\u2026 This isn\u2019t punk. It\u2019s not metal. It is one of the best albums of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1787,1818,1681,8894,2052],"class_list":["post-27267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-its-a-revolution","tag-new-album","tag-rpmnews1","tag-thje-happy-fits","tag-vinyl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27270,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27267\/revisions\/27270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}