Moving away from the lo-fi sound of the preceding
Married, 3 Kids, Sportguitar's third album is their most impressive outing yet; there's a snap and a crackle present on
Happy Already that the band's earlier releases lacked, and although Oliver Obert's artless vocals and slack, meandering songs still owe a heavy debt to bands like
Pavement and
Guided by Voices, tracks like "Romeo Goes," "Mistake" and the title cut are among his most distinctive to date. Equally intriguing is the guitar work of Roland Saum, which is consistently inventive without ever being flashy, pushing the songs in unexpected but wholly welcome directions. ~ Jason Ankeny