In a 2020s world, you would be forgiven for struggling to find optimism at times, a sensation the sunny, sanguine trio The Happy Fits interact with on new album Under The Shade of Green. “This album is how I’ve been processing the trauma of the past two years”, cellist Calvin Langman explains. “From the pandemic to climate change, to the rise of fascism, to BLM, to finding my place in this broken world.” However, resolutely, the group, also comprised of Ross Monteith and Luke Davis, translate these fears into a beacon of solidarity to their fellow citizens, as Langman highlights, almost universally touched in some way by these circumstances. “As there aren’t many who are left unshaken, I hope everyone can find something dark in here to relate to.”

The 12-track outing serves as an emotional release for the trio, and equally, a source of solace for listeners, covering minor anxieties to international crises. The Happy Fits don’t seek over-optimistic, absolute solutions but rather an amplification of our togetherness as we collectively ride the wave. Namely in single, “Little One”, inspired by Tom Rosenthal’s songs penned for his young daughter. “I wanted this song to be a message to my future kid or anyone listening that all their feelings and emotions are valid,” Langman explains below. “And nobody has the right to take that away from them or tell them they are lesser.”

Musically, the record sees the trio more audacious with instrumentation, from the bold guitar riffs, increased focus on the cello, and their most addictive earworm hooks yet. They created it over six months in their Brooklyn studio, a period far more sprawling than the six weeks of previous records, with the limitless approach this afforded them evident upon listening.

Head below to read our chat with Langman all about Under The Shade of Green, their upcoming tour, and how he’s finding life after moving in with his girlfriend…

Hello guys, how are you doing? Where are we speaking to you from right now?
Hello Wonderland! We are doing well. Hope y’all are doing swimmingly, too! You are speaking to me from the glorious Easton, Pennsylvania.

How did the three of you meet?
Ross and I met in Latin class in 2012 during our Freshman year of high school. We started playing indie folk covers together in 2015 and started writing originals in 2016. The summer before heading off to college, we wanted to record some originals on an EP for our friends and families, so we hired Luke to play drums on “Awfully Apeelin’”. We released it the same week we went off to college and it ended up on the Fresh Finds playlist on Spotify. Once we saw the potential to chase our dreams, we all dropped out of school in 2017 and started “band-ing” full-time.

And, your name is one that sparks joy! How did you come up with The Happy Fits?
Well, I was kinda known for my effervescent positivity, yet when I perform I seem like I’m kinda possessed and having some sort of fit. I remember telling Ross we should name our band “Smiley Fits” and when he was like “that sucks”, we asked his mother Agnes what she thought. She recommended The Happy Fits and it stuck!

Congrats on the release of Under The Shade Of Green, your new album! Is there anything you’ve done differently this time around?
We had 6 months to record this album which is much more than the 6 weeks each for our first two albums Concentrate and What Could Be Better. That gave us a tonne of time to experiment with additional layers of synths, guitars, cellos, and vocal harmonies. I think the resulting product is a much fuller, warmer sound than our previous records.

Let’s talk the new single off the record, ‘Little One’! What was the creative process behind the track?
I was living in our old practice space back in January 2021 when I had the inspiration to write this song. Watching the rise of fascism in America has been quite horrifying, and especially after the atrocities that went down after the election and insurrection, there’s a definite fear of white supremacists coming to power. I felt like I needed to write a song about belongingness to combat the rise in the belief of otherism. I was inspired by Tom Rosenthal who writes so many beautiful songs for his daughter and this melody felt swooning enough to carry that kind of message well. I want this song to be a message to my future kid or anyone listening that all their feelings and emotions are valid, and nobody has the right to take that away from them or tell them they are lesser.

The music video for your previous single “Around and Around” had an ending chosen by your fans! Talk us through this and tell us about the relationship you have with your fans.
Shoutout to Shelby our social media girl for coming up with this idea and also shoutout to our director and cinematographer Joe Lee and Christian Strevy for making such an awesome video for “Do Your Worst”, the prequel. The video ended on a cliffhanger and we had tons of comments and messages begging us to finish it, so we knew the video for “Around and Around” had to be a sequel. The concept of the whole universe is that pineapples have been made illegal by the US government and we are now pineapple dealers using an aluminium casting factory as our laundering shed. The fans seem to really take a liking to us doing illicit activities so it was fun to play pretend for a minute there. Our fans are the absolute best for sticking with us through everything. During the pandemic, we really got in touch with them through Youtube and Twitch live-streaming, and we still do it to this day, every Tuesday at 7 PM EST!

Do you have a favourite track from the new album?
“Little One” and “In The Lobby” are probably my favourites. I feel like “In The Lobby” speaks to that special feeling of “Am I going absolutely crazy?” watching everything going on in the world lately.

A tour is also on the horizon, including some UK dates! What can people expect from the upcoming shows?
We’re so PUMPED to go across the pond for the first time ever. We already sold out Glasgow, and London is almost sold out, too. After that, we have 28 shows in the US and for the first time, we’re bringing a lighting director on tour. It’s going to feel like a real ass show, we can’t wait!

What track are you all most excited to perform on tour?
I’m excited to play all the new songs, to be honest! I think “Do Your Worst” is going to be so raucous and “Sweet Things” will be quite lovely for the fans to sing back.

Aside from everything we have discussed, what are you all most excited about in life?
In life, I’m excited to be living in my own home with my girlfriend Adele. We spent 5 years in a long-distance relationship, so it’s really nice to close that gap. Our house that we’re renting is super awesome and has enough space for our music studio, a video studio, and a whole room to store the props from our 18 music videos and all the fan art we’ve collected over the past 6 years.