Indie Light

sadHAPPY is a musical project from Scottish singer/songwriter and musician Aaron Smith. He cited Calvin Harris, Bon Iver and Fred Again, as influences on his music. Today, I’ll be reviewing his debut EP ‘Say Goodbye’ which was released August 25th 2023.

‘America’ kicks off hard with building synth infused vocals that flow into natural vocals perfectly, with a percussive overlay that blends and brings the two elements together. A very catchy song, nice beat, nice melody, and it just kind of lifts you up. I’ve recently taken a small break from reviewing, and so I have a backlog to catch up but I’m so glad sadHappy came across my inbox because this is a phenomenal track, on what I’m sure will be a superb debut EP. It’s just so vibrant and well balanced and you just get caught up in the big flowing beats. 

‘Dance Again’ is slower, a more reverberant melody but still with a tight percussive backing that adds texture and balances out sadHappy’s voice. Speaking of the vocals, I like the blend between synthy and natural, the artist clearly has a strong and melodic voice, and it works incredibly well with this electronic harmony. Another strong track that makes me glad I got a chance to hear the full EP. 

‘Love Me Like I’m Nothing’ is beautiful, just soft melodic singing that builds in energy creating an incredibly memorable track that just sticks in your head after you’ve heard it. I think the most prevalent thing about sadHappy’s music is exemplified in his name, an emotional dichotomy, a balance between highs and lows, happy and sad, soft and fast. Clearly the artist is incredibly talented because in more novice hands it might have been disjointed but instead ‘Say Goodbye’ is a bright exploration of mood, sound and style that has me eager for more. 

‘Superlow’ takes us on another journey, more muted off the bat, but it builds like some of the previous tracks, heavier ambient tones overlaid with his vocals to create something interesting, and then it builds and picks up even more, adding energy and even more substance to the song. It’s very close, but I think this might be my favourite track on the EP. I’ll be honest I’ve liked all these tracks so it was especially difficult but something about the darker, heavier beat and the high energy flurries throughout really sold this one for me. 

‘Say Goodbye’ has a big weight on its metaphorical shoulders, as both the title track of the EP and the final track on it, there’s a lot of expectations for it to be good, and sadHAPPY does not disappoint. It blends a lot of what I’ve liked about the previous tracks but again it just manages to be unique, juxtaposition for ambient vocals, with more upfront electronic instrumentals and beats. While I maintain that the previous track was my favourite this was a close second, and it was perhaps the catchiest and most memorable on what has been a stellar debut. 

So that’s what I thought of sadHAPPY’s debut EP ‘Say Goodbye’ and you can check that out for yourself by heading on over to Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure and support the artist by following them on Instagram.