In Curtain’s Call, HAPPIER’s song has captured the bittersweet essence of recovery from an intense loss of emotions. There is an intense narrative that plays out through the lyrics of someone who has sacrificed absolutely everything for love and sees that love slowly deteriorate. There is honest vulnerability that goes into exploring love, guilt, and self-discovery, and that is what makes the song so relatable.

The manner that HAPPIER conveys heartbreak and disorientation first is effective. It is one of disbelief that events are careening off of, and time and space have the capability of producing an emotional gravitas. As the lyrics progress, HAPPIER shows the investment that has been reversed—the years of optimism, planning, love—all of that has been undone. But even even in sorrow, there is an undertone of power reasserting itself.

One of its strongest sections is that HAPPIER talks about being able to love for free even as he feels invisible. There is terrific emotional strength in the conflict between needing to be loved and seeing that the other had been invested more in being adored by other people. This self-insight is among the strongest aspects of the song. It hurts to acknowledge, but out of that there is a very clear shift of viewpoint.

In the second chorus, however, the mood has evolved from sadness to liberty. HAPPIER triumphs, declaring the end as the “curtain’s call”—the conclusion. That is the idea of liberty, of never ever yearning for love that had never, ever been given back, is sorrowful and potent. It is strongest, however, in its final couplets, demonstrating the way that social media and external confirmation can wipe away true emotions.

They’re collectively an album of shattered heart, self-examination, and growing up. HAPPIER has created something that is painfully personal and wildly universal. Curtain’s Call is as much about the conclusion of the relationship as being concise and calling the shots yourself.