Fazerdaze – Break!

After a five year hiatus, New Zealand’s own Fazerdaze returns with her latest EP, Break!

Hailing influences from Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy, Break! already seems like it will be an interesting mix of melody and emotion right from the get go. If you too shared this assumption with me, then you’ll be more than pleased to know you’d be quite right! The titular track bursts straight into action with a solid drum line and guitar pattern before the refrain cuts in – ‘something’s gotta give, something’s gotta give’… Which ill have you know, is very catchy!

‘Winter’, the following track, turns down the tempo slightly but still manages to keep true to the ‘Fazerdaze’ sound with the low-fi(ish) production values and strong melodic hooks. Its rare I listen to something critically more than a handful of times, but I will admit that I have had this EP on repeat all day to truly allow it to shine.

In addition to this strong start, the middle of the EP is my personal favourite section with both of the tracks ‘Thick of the Honey’ and ‘Come Apart’. Speaking on the creation of the track, Amelia stated how the new EP is about ‘finally allowing [herself] to give up’, allowing her to feel ‘angry, disappointed’ and ‘cynical’ – emotions that may not have been in touch with her previous LP and single releases. These themes do really reflect in the mood of the EP; despite the emotions having quite negative connotations, the record does juxtapose this with its strong, gripping sense of melody.

‘Overthink It’ closes the Break! EP in a true style. Despite the record coming in at just under 15 minutes, the amount of sonic excellence that Amelia has packed into this record is truly something to behold. This is a very, very strong EP and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Fazerdaze!

Alex Malpass