Thick - Happy Now (IEX) (Yellow)

Since first forming in 2014, New York trio Thick have triumphed at turning the harshest truths into wildly exhilarating punk songs. On their second album Happy Now, vocalist/guitarist Nikki Sisti, vocalist/bassist Kate Black, and vocalist/drummer Shari Page deliver their most complex and confessional work yet, exploring everything from self-sabotage and insecurity to victim-blaming and destructive relationships. Raw, irreverent, and brutally honest, Happy Now ultimately offers both joyful catharsis and much-needed instruction for living well in turbulent times. The follow-up to 5 Years Behind (a 2020 release praised by Under the Rader as a "dazzling debut album... laced with anger, humor, killer guitar riffs, and soaring punk melodies"), Happy Now finds Thick working again with producer Joel Hamilton (Iggy Pop, Juiceboxxx) and recording at Studio G Brooklyn. In a profound evolution of their previous work, the 11-track album encompasses sharper arrangements and stickier hooks and a more explosive energy-an effect often achieved through the sheer force of their three voices singing in unstoppable unison.