Wind-Ups, The

***“Are you happy like this?” Purveyors of raw power pop and punk, The Wind-Ups may or may not be curious to know. Since the release of their 2021 debut, Try Not To Think, the Northern California bedroom-project-turned-touring outfit has gained the reputation of a lights-out live band, emulating the same breakneck pace of the record. And you are damn sure to find that same frenetic combustion on their second LP, Happy Like This. Produced in identical fashion to the first album, Happy Like This finds frontman Jake Sprecher once again in his comfort zone–writing, performing, recording and mixing the entire record himself from the backyard confines of his home in the college town of Chico. Still slamming ¼” tape into the red, you’ll hear many-a blistering hook in the form of tracks like “Oh I Know” and “Tell Me Again (How Pretty I Am)” and odd-measure pushers like “Nothing But Time” and “Starting To Lose Ya.”