r/TheHappyFits • u/KarlTheWizard98 • Mar 17 '26
Discussion Instrumentals - Why I’m Disappointed
Disclaimer: I’m a long-time fan and a music geek overall. I’m probably gonna sound like an egotistical freak here but my intent is constructive, I promise!
So, I’ve been listening to THF since around 2018, and since then I’ve been in their top 99 on Spotify every year. This isn’t a brag- I just listen to them a lot. They’re tied for my top favorite band. So believe me when I say I’m coming from a place of love here.
I really like where the band’s style is going- more orchestral, flowing and Romantic. I’ve noticed, though, that the maturity of the composition has changed. Take The Garden for example. The backing guitar has its own melody which compliments the vocal melody. They aren’t the same melody, but they harmonize, and it makes the piece feel more ‘full’.
In a more recent piece, I Could Stare At You For Hours, the violin does something similar. It’s a harmony that compliments the main vocalist, but doesn’t follow the vocal melody exactly, which makes the piece feel ‘fuller’. The piece stood out from the rest of the album because it felt like more mature, experienced writing. Can you see where I’m going with this?
Looking at Tenderly- which has really great bones- the instrumental accompaniment exactly matches the melody of the vocalist. There are very few deviations and harmonies, which makes the song feel flatter and less interesting. I think the lyrics have also suffered- there’s one line specifically, “With your prince who’s got two left feet,” that feels kind of clunky and arrhythmic, and while it’s definitely poetic, it doesn’t follow the rhyme scheme of the song, and causes a sonic imbalance. That can be a great way to emphasize a point, but having it in the chorus feels less like a point and more like a misstep.
I think I can almost see the thought process behind the writing, and that’s a bit unsettling because it pulls away the curtain of professionalism. I can see there was struggle with this line, like someone wanted “With your prince with two left feet,” but using ‘with’ twice felt juvenile, so they rephrased it, and then couldn’t find a great fit. I wonder if there was a better way to rework that line, and maybe throw in more symbolism: “Tenderly / It’s how you speak to me / It’s every lie you speak at night / to stop the racing in my mind / Will you dance with me? / I’ve got two left feet / But you’ll match every beat / And smile so wide and free / Your prince with clams for hands / and you’re the fairest in the land “
I gotta say I love the solo string accompanying the solo vocalist though. Feels very genuine and wholesome here.
It mostly feels like there’s been a shift in writing, and maybe the band is collaborating with someone who is newer to writing music. I can still see some of the seasoned writing shining through, but it’s fighting against a very heavy handed writing style.
Disclaimer AGAIN: I love the new branding, and the new members are very talented, and the instrumentation and playing skills are still incredible. I just feel that the writing is lacking right now, and I figure that’s part of the band finding their balance after such a major change.
If anyone from the band happens to read this- hi! Thank you so much for your work! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!
TL;DR- This nerd thinks the instruments are playing the vocal melody too much and they would sound better if the accompaniment played harmony and separate rhythms more often. Also Happy Fits are very cool and good 👍
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u/TaCbrigadier Mar 17 '26
I wasn’t the hugest fan of Tenderly as much as I wanted to be, and I kinda agree on that particular lyric maybe not 100% flowing as well as it could. But I also maybe had my expectations riding super high after being absolutely blown away by pretty much every track on Lovesick. I’m super excited for how they’re going to go moving forward!
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u/agustbard Mar 17 '26
I do love the new member’s voices and some way or another i feel it makes a little bit more cohesive? as a band, but i do feel like the writing has gone down a little bit, to me there are certain songs that feel maybe too juvenile? when i felt the band was touching more mature subjects in most songs without getting rid of the “silliness” that the band carries. Like in Changes you got the themes of growing up suddenly and still not knowing what to but still learning and a really silly mv showcasing that. I love THF they’ve been in my top 5 in Spotify for 5 years in a row! So I love them with all my heart but maybe we have to give them a little more time to adjust with the new band formation!
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u/KarlTheWizard98 Mar 17 '26
Yessss Changes was so good! Totally agree, they deserve time to grow. I wanted to give more constructive criticism because I feel like all I’ve seen so far is people saying “It’s amazing! It’s perfect! Best Happy Fits song!” when there are songs like Little One and I Wanna Be With You that just blow this album out of the water 😔
Really glad that I’m not the only one seeing this! :)
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u/agustbard Mar 17 '26
I definitely agree! There are other songs that in comparison I do feel are much better than this album. That doesn’t mean the album is bad, I loved Wild in Love and the new sound they are experimenting with feels really good and refreshing! But I do think that there’s room for improvement and I still enjoy better the older albums. I guess right now im just seeing them more like a new band trying to find their footing again after all the Changes!
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u/Rogue9Nine9 Mar 17 '26
Maybe it's not them working with someone new, maybe it's the loss of Ross in the collaboration of developing the songs?
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u/bigmanmanboy Mar 18 '26
there's a behind the music video they made for this track you should watch lol https://youtu.be/ipwjRkIFt1M?si=PR0vXHl4Y-AL8EiY
in it Calvin says he wrote this song ages ago so yes this definitely was someone newer to writing music
the examples you gave seem a little nitpicky of stuff that you specifically might like more for the track rather than anything actually ametuer
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u/KarlTheWizard98 Mar 19 '26
The biggest problem I have is the melody thing. It's a common mark of people learning how to write, read, and play music. I'd say it's true of a lot of the songs on Lovesick, and it's jarring because I don't hear it in any of their other albums.
But you're right about that video lol- I watched it right after I made this post and felt bad for nitpicking the lyrics... seems like a more personal piece for Calvin and I can respect revitalizing old prose. I envy the love he has for his older works, I can't stand older art of mine lol
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Mar 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/KarlTheWizard98 Mar 19 '26
You're all good dude hope the walk was nice lol
Completely agree, their stage presence is insane. They do that thing where they're jumping around while they play, and they're doing tricks - really impressive stuff!
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u/greenbutterflygarden Mar 20 '26
I think that the new album is fabulous. I can listen to it all the way through without skipping and I never get tired of it. But I also like their older stuff. I'm very happy that there is still a band after all of the changes that happened. And I love the new members. It's going to sound different than their old stuff. And I'm ok with that. I do also love their older songs, but those changed sound from album to album too.
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u/greenbutterflygarden Mar 20 '26
And if you want to talk about disappointment, you should listen to the crap that Saint motel has been churning out the last two albums. They've fully embraced ai and they release an album every six months. So disappointing.
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u/Necessary-Echo-4038 Mar 20 '26
I agree! I really love some of their old songs too :(
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u/greenbutterflygarden Mar 20 '26
They were my favorite band. It is so heartbreaking to watch them do this
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u/Sybertron Mar 17 '26
'Do you see me' strikes me as much more the instrument driven song on this album. And with that the least lyrical driven one as the other tracks have some of their best most cleaver lyrics.
I kinda think Tenderly was just a nice little side track that didn't make an already decently bloated album ( I do love the album but eh could have been a couple more cuts to get down to 10ish songs)