At some point in the pandemic, The Wind-Ups became an outlet for Jake Sprecher’s enormous pop heart. His 2021 debut was a “19 minute powerpop masterpiece disguised as lo-fi garagepunk record.” More recently, he released a 7″ full of “pop music for those with a distorted sense of what pop music entails.” One of the standouts from that EP was a tribute to Jonathan Richman called Jonathan Says. The song closes The Wind-Ups’ new LP Happy Like This, which is out now on Mt. St. Mtn. Records.
LP #2 is about one minute longer than the debut, but aside from that it is fair to say you cannot like one and not like the other. If you like your timeless pop melodies veiled beneath a layer of lo-fi noise, if you like your music loud even when played at a low volume, and if you like your pat on the head mixed with a punch in your face, Jake Sprecher has got you covered. The words and chords are minimalistic on Happy Like This, and Sprecher’s adept use of repetition renders the songs instantly recognizable and irresistibly sing-along-worthy. I am particularly fond of the songs where harmonies creep in, like Dumb and My Rene. Then again, it’s not like I am skipping any of the songs on this one. The wantlist today, the collection tomorrow!
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