Lo-fi grunge is a style of music which can still be found in abundance among the youth of both the UK and the USA. There are too many bands pedaling the stuff to wave a stick at (even a really big one), and so it can be very difficult for any to really stand out from the crowd. However, appearing from this vast lo-fi mist is a band called Happyness. They hail from South London and consist of Jonny Allan, Benji Compston and Ashley Cooper. The trio have made the pretty big leap of self-producing their first release in the moth ridden landscape of their loft, aka Jelly Boy Studios, and luckily for us, the sound is brilliant.

Happyness are not only gathering fans on both sides of the pond, but are carving their own sound by using a mixture of richly saturated melodies and vocals with a glaze of lo-fi draped lovingly overhead. Kicking off the EP “It’s On You” bursts into life with distorted “ooh”s, bright guitar melodies and a wonderful sense of celebrated adolescence. Its opening lyrics, “Remember when we broke into the park and you got laid and I watched and you said that was fun?/You said you didn’t like the government or school, you’re so cool – you’re just like Robin Hood” holds a strong sense of childlike wonder towards a role model. It shows through the opening line’s heavy use of “and” the youth and naivety of the character, but simultaneously the songwriting prowess this band have despite their tender years – these guys are bona fide.

“Orange Luz” offers a much deeper sense of melancholy than its predecessor. The slow and relentless march of drums, smattered with hints of guitar, keys, organs and vocals offer something completely different to “It’s On You”. Its ghostly, hook laden sound gingerly repeats the line “Haven’t you heard?” until it culminates into a cinematic cacophony. “Lascascadas” and “Montreal Rock Band Somewhere” offer again a taste of something slower – “Lascascadas” is near enough instrumental, with a bass and drum lead drone hued with soft whispers of vocals scattered amongst the terrain, and “Montreal Rock Band Somewhere” is weighed down with heaves of pathos; the lyrics “Let’s call it a day, if not now when? / What do you do when you hate all your friends?” are slowly uttered amongst the slow rolling melody of the track.

All in all, it’s a massive success. Happyness have managed to separate themselves from the mass of grunge bands either side of the Atlantic and created an EP that holds heaps of promise.