By: Madelline Gastelo
Luke Davis (drums), Calving Langman (cello, lead vocals), and Ross Monteith (guitar), respectively.
Ross Monteith, guitarist of indie rock band The Happy Fits, filed in a bit later than Luke Davis and Calvin Langman, the drummer and cellist, respectively. I caught them in their green room before their show in Missouri, where we met via zoom. The band is on their second leg of the “What Could Be Better Tour?” where they find themselves in smaller cities, among the likes of Kansas City, Missouri and Des Moines, Illinois. What’s changed since the last time they toured these cities? The number of people. “Some of these places we haven’t been to in like three or four years, so seeing the crowds grow from what they were, which was like, you could literally count on your hand how many people were there to like.. now having up to 300 people. It’s insane.” What hasn’t seemed to change, is the connection and engagement the band has with fans. They talked about how after their “electric” show in Kansas City, friends and fans alike were ready to treat them to drinks and dinner.
The New Jersey trio, who met in high school and dropped out of college to pursue music, have been in the industry for the last six years. Making EPs and LPs all while touring the US. When I first met the band, it was at a basement show in a hard to find spot in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles, back in 2018. Next month, they plan on performing at the Troubadour, in which they plan on performing their extensive set list.
As the “What Could Be Better Tour” wraps up, the XOXO tour bleeds into that schedule, where the band plans on playing cities from New York to San Francisco, where they play in support of rock band The Maine. With a busy touring schedule, the band is beginning to drop singles in preparation for their next album. This album, which will be their third album, was written over the course of 6 months last year in 2021 while they lived in Brooklyn. In anticipation of their new album, Langman explained how this differs from albums past, telling me that, “before we had only done like a few weeks on our past two records so having six others to really sit down and get really nitty gritty with the details and the parts was stressful at times but also really fun. We really got to deep dive and make sure everything sounded exactly how we wanted it to sound…we’ve definitely found our sound this time.”
When discussing the inspiration behind this new album, Langman informed me on how it seemed to come together during the “dog days” of the pandemic. With everything that happened amidst the peak of the pandemic, it seemed many problems came to light, and this album reflects that with Langman explaining that this will be a more cohesive album, focusing on the emotions and growing pains that accompany the chaos that we experience in our modern world. Specifically speaking of new song, “Changes” Langman explained that, “I definitely don’t feel like there’s been a lot of music that’s been in reaction to that…’Changes’ especially too, it kind of felt like the world was changing too fast through the pandemic and there was really no emotionally outlet to really talk about that, except for in our music.”
“Changes” is an upbeat spunky song, with a dynamic guitar and catchy melody. The lyrics, though, seem to deal with the existential dread that many young people feel today, “Now I'm learning to pretend / Going back and forth through content and dread / Got meetings to attend (Meetings to attend) / Give me one more week and I'll make amends.” It’s hopeful though, explaining that we still have a lot to learn, and while it mentions the monotonous cycle of life, it’s easy to ignore the typical expected anxieties as the cheery melody drowns out the melancholy.
In further comparing their to-be-released album to albums from the past, the band explained “it felt weird to come out with an album of cheesy love songs,” What we can expect from this new album is a blend of the classic cheesiness that fans love, but with a focus on the changing world around us. It’s to let fans know that they are not alone. From songs like “Get a Job” to “Hold Me Down,” it’s clear that these three understand the struggles experienced by young people today in an ever changing, chaotic world. This sort of relatability, coupled with the unique sound that can only be brought by a cello, drum and guitar trio, is what seems to appeal so much to their listeners. The inviting warmth and humility of The Happy Fits is unchanging, unlike a lot of things right now. Be sure to listen to “Changes” by The Happy Fits on all streaming platforms.
Reach Madelline at gastelom@uci.edu!
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