Intro
This album from Phangs captures its own energy, mostly happy, some sad, and some dark, but sonically and lyrically all of these moods work off each other to create Happy Season. There’s no question that Happy Season has a deliberate sound to it even though some tracks vary in production. Listen to it here before or during the review. *Spoilers Ahead*
1. Happy Season
The album leads off with the title track “Happy Season.” it functions as a great introduction to the project and as well as by itself. It’s up-tempo and lends itself to dance floor. There’s not many songs that are this genuinely fun and put you in a good mood like “Happy Season” succeeds in doing. I would set this song as my morning alarm because it puts me in a day drinking kind of mode, but facing the harsh reality that it’s not “socially acceptable” to day drink in the quantity that I did in college would put a damper on the rest of my week. For now I’ll keep my siren alarm, and just enjoy this song as it is.
2. Eyes Off You
Next track up is “Eyes Off You.” I wrote a music video review on this track, which I encourage you to go watch because it will give you a much different take on the song than just listening does. Phangs paints himself as helplessly romantic, but not in the way you are thinking. Anyway just go watch it and you’ll see what I mean. I don’t want to repeat myself too much, but in the context of this project it is one of my favorites on the album.
3. Good Now
“Good Now” has potential to be the biggest song the entire album. It has major pop appeal, and is built for summer. The tropical house influences are strong with this one, and I would bet my life it gains some huge traction in the next few months. I know it’s only February, but be on the lookout for this one to show up on some summertime Spotify playlists in a few months. I have a feeling big things are on the way.
4. One of Those Days
So, “One of Those Days” is my favorite song on the album. This is definitely one of the darker songs on this album lyrically. To me this song is about accepting that you aren’t going to be happy every day. It is a fact of life and that’s okay. When you stop rejecting your emotions to mask what you are really feeling, you can move forward to tomorrow. You don’t have to get through it alone. At the end of the day we are all the same in this way, and you shouldn’t be afraid to share your emotions with the people closest to you. The irony in this song is that despite the darker tone of the lyrics, the production is still up-tempo and keeps the dancey vibe of the rest of the project. Phangs effectively tricks you into dancing to sad music, it’s a paradox.
5. I Forgot You
“I Forgot You” brings in the down tempo energy on the album. This song has a heavy Jai Wolf “Starlight” sound to it, so if you liked this song, you will probably like that as well. On this song Phangs is singing about an ex that he forgot, he forgot about, if that makes sense. It’s about a time seeing an old picture or hearing a song you haven’t heard in years that reminds you of a relationship that you actually forgot about. It’s the realization that you actually moved on from that person, and you can’t even know when it happened. There’s something freeing about being fully detached from a relationship, that at one point you probably thought you couldn’t live without.
6. Dry Eyes
On “Dry Eyes,” the last track on the album, Phangs brings in Truitt for some future bass production and vocal chops. “Dry Eyes” is a more upbeat, spiteful take on a former relationship. Lyrically it definitely takes on a more pointed outlook in a “look where I’m at now” kind of way. This was some of the most fun production on the whole project in my opinion, but it still kept the synth-heavy feel. I could see this being remixed by a number of producers in the future bass lane, so be on the lookout for that. Overall this track was a great way to leave you on a high at the end of the project.
Overall Thoughts
Building and developing your sound as an artist is one of the hardest things define, and I think with this project Phangs cemented his sound. With production help from electronic duo and Class 3 Alumni, Truitt, Phangs created a bouncy, fun, synth-pop album that you will probably have on replay throughout the entire summer.
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