EP Review: Half Happy - Conversation Killer
Small talk can be a minefield to try and get right when you're first learning the conventions of human interaction. School is not only there to teach you about the fundamentals of mathematics, science and language, but also to socialise us as children and to provide the learned behaviour that creates a functional adult life. From a personal perspective, I'm not great at it. Sure I can feign enough interest to get through a basic interaction , but internally I'm bursting to say:
"Have you heard that new Metz album yet? It's absolutely amazing you know. It really has combined all of what has made them such a great band for years and captured their live essence perfectly!"
Often it slips out like some kind of splurge of word vomit. Can you imagine the bemused looks when I go down to the local corner shop to buy an Orange Twirl?
Cardiff newcomers Half Happy are a band that have slowly built on their early promise over the last couple of years. The quartet - comprising of Rosalie Miller (vocals), Pete Smith (guitar), Jon Wilson (bass) and Zac Noneley (bass) - are part of a new breed of sharp, literary, brooding bands from the Welsh Capital. They don't quite fit into a neat box and often flit between a range of genres, incorporating dream pop, indie rock and post punk into their sound. As a result they won the Welsh Music Prize's Triskell Award for emerging artists in 2023; a nod to just how much buzz they have managed to gain at such an early stage in their career.
Conversation Killer is the band's debut E.P and it perfectly showcases the band and what they have to offer. It's a band that are finding their feet in adult life and navigating a scene that often overshares far too soon. Opener 'Sorry' fades in with an unapologetic glow of dream-pop; a stark contrast to the title that suggests defensiveness. The melodies are sweet, but on the right of side of saccharine and it brings to mind the unashamedly pop side of Alvvays. The lyrics talk of anxiety-fueled interactions that many will relate to, with Miller chastising herself as well as trying to make sense of it all:
Worrying to worry, my favourite word is sorry.
'Well Done Honey' is one of the singles prior to the release of the E.P that gained the band the most traction. The track was written in one sitting after a bad day at work by Miller, it was so bad that it made her have a "panicked cry" on the drive home. Again, it ponders the compromises we make to try to get by in the world, this time in the context of the workplace; an unforgiving environment where towing the party line is essential to survive and progress. The track has a tougher feel than 'Sorry' and as Miller gives herself a pep talk to get herself together the band go into overdrive with a guitar that sounds monumental with a tight and formidable rhythm section giving English Teacher a run for their money.
'Up in Daisies' has a similar feel with Miller's vocals bordering on the kind of disinterested sigh that Dry Cleaning have perfected. There is more contemplative musings on the human condition here:
We all make mistakes, God knows I've made mine.
But you can't just hide in the sun
like nothings gone on.
The chorus manages to make room for the differing vocal styles to merge; Miller almost verbally sparring with herself as the band produce some more melodies that should be made available on prescription by the NHS.
Two more previous singles also make their mark on Conversation Killer. Synth-led track 'Bloom' is a pleasant surprise that takes the E.P into new sonic territory. The track has an electronic, sparse coldness to it early on that hints at a love of Caroline Polacheck, but it's also accessible enough for Lily Allen comparisons to arise. Again, Miller wrestles with internal monologues that never quite seem to reach a resolution, and yes, the small talk that never seems to allow conversations to cut to the chase.
Closer 'Slow Down' builds from one guitar line and vulnerable vocal into a much different beast by the time it's 3 minutes and 20 seconds are over. It's perhaps the most accomplished and fully formed song on the E.P. It's a simple collection of chords that get the ball rolling here, but it's soon joined by another beautiful tone that brings to mind Johnny Marr trying to tune into Morrissey's maudlin mindset*. The track morphs and reaches the kind of thrilling conclusion that the band have clearly been capable of this whole time; it's a noisier, almost shoegaze-inspired end to the E.P that has Miller repeating the title with increasing urgency. It's enough to make you want to take a hiatus from life and find refuge in the things you love again.
*There was a time when such things actually happened. Not a picture of Nigel Farage in sight.
The communication process is as much about what you don't say as what you do and sometimes those lines have to be read between. Music is very much the same, the silence doesn't always have to be filled with something; just let it sit there and be what it is. With Conversation Killer Half Happy have shown a deep and profound understanding of this intricate process, both in their uneasy and self deprecating lyrics and the beautifully crafted songs that hint of a band on the brink of something truly special.
As always, we recommend you buy direct from the band on their Bandcamp
If you like what you read and feel so inclined, you can buy NNWNF a coffee at the Q.R code above.
It's not a real coffee, but it'll be as greatly appreciated as much as any flat white ever could.
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