HAPPY. – IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Emo pop-rock band, Happy. have recently put out their second album, Impostor Syndrome under Rude Records. The band did an incredible job with this album, and having lost a member hasn’t changed them at all. They’re still as strong, if not stronger with this release.
Emo pop-rock band, Happy. have recently put out their second album, Impostor Syndrome under Rude Records. The band consisting of Tate Logan, Sean Bowick, and John Palmer, found great success in their first album, Cult Classic, and recently toured with Super Whatever and Chapel in the Pastel is Emo Tour back in the beginning of this year, and even began playing some of the songs that would eventually be on this new record. This is also the first album Bowick has played drums on following the departure of former drummer, Caleb also earlier this year.
Being a trans-fronted band, Happy. have grown a wonderful connection with their followers, and even support them in their own endeavors whether it be music, or art. The band is also very vocal about pressing issues like the current election and helps to promote good in their music and within their following.
The first song on this album is ‘Sick is the New Sane’, which the band had played on the previous tour in the beginning of the year. It was also the first single released to promote the new record back in June. The song is very nostalgic in sound, sharing some of the same sounds as pop-punk bands in the early two-thousands.
‘Hooky’ was the first on the tracklist to not be previously released or played, and opens with a wonderful guitar. The song touches on wanting to stay with the person you’re with even if you aren’t doing anything in particular. The song is very sweet both lyrically and instrumentally, and the listener is likely to just smile hearing it.
‘LiarLiar’ was the last single to be released before the album came out, and it was one that made fans the most excited. Unlike anything the band has released before, the chorus of this track includes heavier guitar chords and screaming that leaves the listener excited for what comes next.
‘After School Special’ sounds like something out of Happy’s earlier album Cult Classic, sharing some of the same guitar tones and the drums along with Logan’s voice. Listening to this, however, you can definitely tell they’re having fun making this song. The song definitely hints at keeping yourself occupied with other things so that you don’t worry too much about the things that bother you which is something a lot of people tend to do.
‘April is for Fools’ is another song the band played on tour before. Opening with a slow guitar and picking up with the drums, this song is filled with energy, Having been written years before this album came out. This song is written for Logan’s friend who had taken their own life in the month of April. The song is filled with memories of this friend, and listeners can even picture this story in their head as it plays along. Upon using the song for this record, however, the line “You’ll never hear brand new’s final album” was changed to “You’ll never hear you favorite band’s final album” and the line “This box full of your possessions is the root of my depression” shows how hard it is to lose a friend, especially to something like this, and Logan is letting those feelings out in this song.
The final track, ‘Black Picket Fence’, an acoustic track, touches on some of the hardships of people starting their lives in today’s society. The lyrics speak on how hard things can be especially just starting out, but being with the person you love can make things so much easier, and just wanting the best for each other. The last verse in the song touches on life after death and wanting to be buried with the one you love, and the last lines say, “bodies intertwined like ancient art, ‘cause we’ve never slept six feet apart” before the guitar dies off and heavier guitars and drums come into play to send the album off.
Overall, I think this album is perfect all the way around. The ending creates such a story that gets the listener immersed, and heavier parts at the end can easily send someone who’s really listening into a flashback of the whole story, before the guitars die off. The band did an incredible job with this album, and having lost a member hasn’t changed them at all. They’re still as strong, if not stronger with this release.
Alex Davidson
★★★★★