Fazerdaze
One of the really nice features of Bandcamp (apart from wandering through a h-u-g-e virtual record store - and getting the ability to listen to as many cool new albums as many times as you like ) is the ability to see which artists and albums have been purchased and recommended by the artist whose album you've just bought (this is a really neat feature - although my credit card and CFO may not always agree...) So while I was checking out Jennie Vee it didn't escape my notice that not only has she a Bandcamp artist profile, she's also a Bandcamp music fan...
And given that I was somewhat impressed by Jennie's records I thought it would be more than worthwhile to check out some of the artists that have gotten Jennie's attention...
Amelia Murray is a self-confessed "Girl in bedroom on guitar" and hails from Auckland, NZ who armed only with said guitar(s) and a midi keyboard records as Fazerdaze. Her debut EP contains half-dozen examples of pretty much spot-on guitar-driven, fuzzy - at the same time infectiously catchy and melodic - indie-pop tunes (think of her as a slightly more dream-pop version of one-woman indie-pop fuzz-box Colleen Green)
"Reel" is a great opening number; jangly guitars, a lively melody and toe-tapping beat all alongside reverbed and echoed vocals. It's easy (indeed predictable) to compare this song to the mid-eighties heyday of C86 and Twee - there, I've said it - but the reality is that the vocal treatment really makes this song "pop" as the locals here would say.
The single "Jennifer" is the track that most reviews I've seen refer to and I'd have to agree with them all. This really is a gorgeous, lazy song for those endless summer days - for some unknown reason the intro reminds me of Strawberry Switchblade's "Trees and Flowers", but frankly I'm just suckered by the multi-tracking on the guitar and vocals.
In many way this EP is the Southern Hemisphere's answer to Alvvays' eponymous debut; a timeless collection of indie-pop songs. And in many respects the driving guitar beat of "Zero" seriously reminds me of New Brunswick and PEI's finest exponents of indie-pop. There's also some serious reverb and fuzz on the guitar here that steers the song dangerously close to shoegaze territory - what's not to like?
The fuzz is back with a vengeance on "Treading lightly", this time married to solid staccato bass. It's darker, raw sound than anything that precedes it - at times reminiscent of Hannah Lew's Cold Beat - and evidence of a different side to both Amelia's musical songwriting skills and her influences - which may well include the Reid brothers' Jesus and Mary Chain, if "Tired of waiting" is anything to go by. This is a song full of reverbed and fuzzy guitars and weary resignation alongside some surprising musical touches (no spoilers - listen for yourselves). The EP closes with "Somethink", a fetching song of poignant stillness and full of homespun philosophies which offers a glimpse of a more tranquil side to Amelia.
"Fazerdaze" is an amazingly assured collection of indie-pop songs and one which l still find it incredibly difficult to wrap my head around the fact that to all intents and purposes this EP was recorded in her bedroom, such is the level of detail and depth on display. I'm not sure whether Amelia will ever rock-up at one of my favourite LA joints, but seeing as her fellow antipodean (and blog favourite) Courtney Barnett has, there is always hope...
Fazerdaze (Bandcamp)
And given that I was somewhat impressed by Jennie's records I thought it would be more than worthwhile to check out some of the artists that have gotten Jennie's attention...
Amelia Murray is a self-confessed "Girl in bedroom on guitar" and hails from Auckland, NZ who armed only with said guitar(s) and a midi keyboard records as Fazerdaze. Her debut EP contains half-dozen examples of pretty much spot-on guitar-driven, fuzzy - at the same time infectiously catchy and melodic - indie-pop tunes (think of her as a slightly more dream-pop version of one-woman indie-pop fuzz-box Colleen Green)
"Reel" is a great opening number; jangly guitars, a lively melody and toe-tapping beat all alongside reverbed and echoed vocals. It's easy (indeed predictable) to compare this song to the mid-eighties heyday of C86 and Twee - there, I've said it - but the reality is that the vocal treatment really makes this song "pop" as the locals here would say.
The single "Jennifer" is the track that most reviews I've seen refer to and I'd have to agree with them all. This really is a gorgeous, lazy song for those endless summer days - for some unknown reason the intro reminds me of Strawberry Switchblade's "Trees and Flowers", but frankly I'm just suckered by the multi-tracking on the guitar and vocals.
In many way this EP is the Southern Hemisphere's answer to Alvvays' eponymous debut; a timeless collection of indie-pop songs. And in many respects the driving guitar beat of "Zero" seriously reminds me of New Brunswick and PEI's finest exponents of indie-pop. There's also some serious reverb and fuzz on the guitar here that steers the song dangerously close to shoegaze territory - what's not to like?
The fuzz is back with a vengeance on "Treading lightly", this time married to solid staccato bass. It's darker, raw sound than anything that precedes it - at times reminiscent of Hannah Lew's Cold Beat - and evidence of a different side to both Amelia's musical songwriting skills and her influences - which may well include the Reid brothers' Jesus and Mary Chain, if "Tired of waiting" is anything to go by. This is a song full of reverbed and fuzzy guitars and weary resignation alongside some surprising musical touches (no spoilers - listen for yourselves). The EP closes with "Somethink", a fetching song of poignant stillness and full of homespun philosophies which offers a glimpse of a more tranquil side to Amelia.
"Fazerdaze" is an amazingly assured collection of indie-pop songs and one which l still find it incredibly difficult to wrap my head around the fact that to all intents and purposes this EP was recorded in her bedroom, such is the level of detail and depth on display. I'm not sure whether Amelia will ever rock-up at one of my favourite LA joints, but seeing as her fellow antipodean (and blog favourite) Courtney Barnett has, there is always hope...
Fazerdaze (Bandcamp)
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