Hazel English - Wake UP!

Von den ersten selbst veröffentlichten Songs bis zum Debütalbum hat es fünf Jahre gedauert. Doch nun steht „Wake UP!“ von der in Australien geborenen und mittlerweile in Kalifornien lebenden Hazel English in den Plattenläden (rotes Vinyl im Gatefold Cover).

Musikalisch bietet sie luftigen Indiepop und sonnigen Dreampop im Sixties-Vintage-Gewand. Man kommt nur schwer daran vorbei, Lana del Rey als Referenz heran zu ziehen, jedoch ist Hazel English nicht ganz so somnambul. Das ist bei diesem Albumtitel auch kein Wunder. „Wake UP!“ wurde von der Singer/Songwriterin auch als Aufforderung an sich selbst gewählte, um nach der langen Entstehungsgeschichte und einigen, durch EPs geschürten Erwartungen, endlich einmal aus den Puschen zu kommen. Geholfen haben ihr dabei auf den 10 Songs die nahmhaften Produzenten Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira, Charli XCX, Angel Olsen) in Los Angeles und Ben H. Allen (Deerhunter, Belle & Sebastian, Athlete, Cults) in Atlanta. 

The brightness of this album is rather asking us to do what feels good. Whether it's through the optimism in "Work It Out," a track about trying to hold onto a crumbling relationship, or through the questions raised by "Wake UP!," which implores us to trust ourselves, she is showing us the work it takes to get better, to get more like ourselves.
The album pops with memories of a time we might not have been in, and English's words make you feel alive. It's the perfect soundtrack to the next few months that may feel like an eternity under COVID-19.
(Exclaim)

With an ephemeral dewy breezy richness, English has cultivated a beautiful intersection of sound that lingers between folk, indie and dream pop. She plays homage to the 1960s era of sounds with slow sweeps and romantic pauses, melodies and playfulness that intertwine throughout the album.
With a graceful strength, English sings from the hard to reach places of love. A soft power melts over as the listener is met with a tide of earnest offerings that don’t stray from the lost entanglements of the heart. True to suit she boldly upholds a narrative of love that doesn’t fit in one box. She outlines and gives a full landscape of love as battle.
(Clash Music)

Whilst English’s smooth tone and poetic songwriting paints a dreamy soundscape, what English delivers here primarily, is concise honesty. Rather than washing over fantasised ideals, she tells us exactly how it is, how it makes her feel and what she wants to do in order to gain her power back. “Combat” with its swaying guitar tells of her unreciprocated efforts in a relationship, whilst album closer “Work It Out” breaks into a deeper corner of her vulnerability as the emotive guitar riff is narrated by “We can work it out / sure I have my doubts / we will see this through”.
In current times, whilst the world sits in an unearthly silence, we are forcibly driven to the digital world to entertain us and often keep us company. Wake UP! heavily contradicts that notion, asking us to do something that right now might seem straightforward - become more present in our own lives.
(The Line Of Best Fit)