aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Is This The Life?
#3: Say This Twice by Half Happy
OK, before we start, full disclosure: I work with the dad of today’s band’s drummer. There. Any accusations of nepotism are therefore fully justified, but I don’t care! And I don’t care because, actually, Half Happy are pretty damn good. They are one of the youngest bands on Cardiff’s current scene but are showing a heck of a lot of promise. After a handful of singles across 2022 and 2023, they won the 2023 Welsh Music Prize’s Triskell Award for new artists. Then in October 2024 they released their debut EP ‘Conversation Killer’, described by vocalist Rosalie Miller thus:
“Each song almost feels like a different part of the day sonically. I feel like we imagine we’re in different locations; work, pub, town, back in your bedroom for each track. The EP is one big diary entry, one crazy day with lots of drama.”
‘Conversation Killer’ showcases Half Happy’s penchant for sparkling indie-pop tinged with sadness, frustration and defiance. But there’s more to them than that, with some songs lurching towards shoegaze, and others boasting a glaze of synths. You wouldn’t be far wrong if you made comparisons to the likes of Alvvays and Camera Obscura (they recently played a very well-received support slot with the latter) but I think Half Happy have given themselves a lot of room for movement in terms of their evolution. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.
This week’s track is Say This Twice, a rather excellent single that pre-dates the EP.
MP3: Say This Twice – Half Happy (single, 2023)
And the video is for one of the EP tracks. Well Done Honey was written by Rosalie after a particularly bad day at work which left her “crying in the car”. It’s my fave of their repertoire to date and has drawn comparisons in some areas to The Sundays, which I know you’ll agree is no bad thing whatsoever!
But that’s not all folks. We also have an added bonus for you today. You see, not only do Half Happy make excellent music, they are also a lovely, generous bunch who have donated one of their t-shirts to a lucky t(n)vv reader* who can answer this simple question:
What is the title of the opening track on ‘Conversation Killer’?
If you need a hint, check out their Bandcamp page: https://wearehalfhappy.bandcamp.com
Answers should be emailed to thevinylvillain@hotmail.co.uk with the subject line ‘Half Happy t-shirt’ and must be received by midnight GMT on Saturday 30 November.
Please also include the size of the t-shirt you would like sent to you, should you be the lucky winner who will be chosen at random by someone not in the slightest bit related to the band. He/she/they will be contacted directly and announced on another Welsh Wednesday in a couple of weeks.
*apologies in advance, but the competition is open only to folk living in the UK. The postage overseas is just a bit too expensive in this instance. The blame can be attached to the usual suspects…..
Good luck!!
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 