could not quite stomach Raine Maida's voice, yet the musicianship was very solid, especially the drummer (Jeremy Taggart).So I approached the new release, Happiness... with quite a bit of reservation. Even though I liked some things about the band, I just could not really get excited about them. But my ever-curious inner self decided to tell me to buy this album. And I am glad I listened, because I can say this is the album that transformed me from merely a casual fan to a fan that now loves everything about this band. I really cannot say why I have suddenly been transformed. Maybe it's because when I listened to all of these songs, I found that every single facet of the group meshed perfectly with each track I heard. I found new appreciation for Raine Maida as a vocalist. His voice really strikes the right emotion for each particular song, and his performance on "Blister" really stands out, equal parts loneliness and comtemplation strike quite an interesting chord (no pun intended). The songs have a harder edge here than on Clumsy, and the band seems to have become much tighter. And while I have always liked Jeremy Taggart's drumming (I think he's one of the very best new drummers to come around in years), his performances on these tracks are nothing short of astounding. The patterns he comes up with are extremely clever and unique, and really drive the band. Even though I sense a huge Elvin Jones influence