-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: Hazel English
ALBUM...: Just Give In / Never Going Home
GENRE...: Indie
STYLE...: Indie Pop, Pop
YEAR....: 2017
LABEL...: Marathon
ENCODER..: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V TRACKS..: 10
BITRATE..: 893 kbps avg SOURCE..: CD
QUALITY..: 44.1kHz/Stereo SIZE....: 220.41 MB
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_English
http://hazelenglish.com/
- TRACKLIST
1 Other Lives 3:01
2 Fix 3:42
3 Birthday 3:02
4 Love Is Dead 3:30
5 More Like You 4:15
6 Never Going Home 3:56
7 Make It Better 3:01
8 Control 3:25
9 It's Not Real 3:14
10 I'm Fine 3:17
Total Playtime: 34:23
Following a hugely successful 2016, which saw her play to sold out crowds in
the UK, North America and Australia, 26 year old indie sensation Hazel
English is releasing a new 2xEP titled Just Give In / Never Going Home,
compiling her debut EP alongside six new tracks to make her first full
LP-length release.
The Never Going Home side combines the hazy, direct songs that have helped
Hazel rise to prominence this past year, while the Just Give In side
documents her blossoming creative partnership with Jackson Phillips (aka Day
Wave).
Both musicians met when Hazel was working in a local book shop. Jackson
popped by on his way to get a synth repaired, and the two got talking about
music, before deciding to collaborate. It's a meeting of minds that's helped
forge this essential debut collection.
Each song sports a timeless, sun-kissed aesthetic that you might expect from
Bay Area-based creatives, but Hazel's direct style and pop sensibility take
things to another level.
A traveler itching to see new places, Hazel first found Oakland on a trip
away from her native Australia. It only took a few days to convince her this
could be her new home. Shortly after, while studying creative writing in
Melbourne, Australia, she had the option to study abroad.
She didn't know she'd stay here, or indeed that she'd find the tight-knit
musical community that thrives in the Bay Area, but she was drawn to
something unexplainable about the place û a connection: "I thought I was just
gonna go for six months, but I got connected with the musicians and felt like
a really strong part of the community. So it felt like home. That vibe really
made me feel like I could be whoever I wanted to be, I could try whatever I
wanted to do."
Given the time and space to make music in her new home, she took a casual
approach to working with Phillips, even as debut track "Never Going Home"
racked up millions of plays online. "We were just kind of taking our time.
Over the span of a year, whenever we could we'd go and work on something."
Picking lyrics from her journal entries and jotting down ideas on a
reel-to-reel tape recorder, this simple but personal approach worked wonders.
In other hands, you could imagine these songs being direct, shiny chart
smashes. It's not inconceivable to envisage the world's biggest stars
flocking to Hazel for the perfect hook. Plenty of these arrive on Just Give
In / Never Going Home. The glistening "Birthday" captures summertime
melancholy with smart precision, new single "Fix" flips excess on its head,
while "It's Not Real" is a brilliantly stark account of how the mind plays
tricks on you.
Closing song "That Thing" is an exciting outlier on the release. A
perfectly-paced collision of stirring synths and circuiting basslines, it
sees her working with Justin Raisen, a deskman described as Ariel
Rechtshaid's protΘgΘ, with production credits including Angel Olsen's
sensational 'My Woman', as well as Sky Ferreira and Charli XCX. Although this
shift in direction could remain a complete one-off in Hazel's back catalogue
("I just want it to feel like a standalone song, not paving the way for
what's gonna happen next"), it's further proof that she can work magic in
different territories.
There's no guessing which direction future material will strive towards, but
virtually nothing seems off limits. In turn, this double EP doesn't just
serve to document Hazel's more-than-promising first steps û it suggests that
whatever's next round the corner will be the making of a star.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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