Maybe one of my favorite emerging pop artists, Hazlett brings listeners a new single “Karaoke”.
“Karaoke” is the final single to round out the EP “Troubling Hopes” also released today. This pop troubadour explored moments of clarity through his music. “Karaoke” is a beautifully airy acoustic love song. Hazlett has such soothing vocals, everything is patient and is given time to resonate and truly fill the time and space the lyrics deserve. It brings you back to simpler times being out with friends or a date and the night drawing close to its end but you have a bit of time left to kill. The track draws you up and filled me with warmth and hope when I listened to it. This feeling of happy and peaceful nostalgia is I think what I miss most being away from friends these days. Imagine those fun chilled nights with friends maybe you went to a party or went out but this song is for the drive home when you are tired and all you feel is grateful for the experience you had with the friends you care about. This track captures that beautiful essence of simple joy.
Writing and performing music is a form of therapy for Brisbane native Hazlett. His modus operandi: finding beauty in the banalities of modern life.
The self-proclaimed overthinker is ready to step out of the shadows, having journeyed far from home to base his creativity in Stockholm, Sweden. Upcoming project Thundering Hopes is a follow up from the artist’s first token breakup EP Honey, Where Is My Home.
Exploring the journey of acceptance, Hazlett tells us: “It’s about those moments when you move on and feel normal again. The times when you live a little reckless. The way you bury certain feelings to protect yourself. Nights when you wonder if it’s okay to be selfish and mornings when you notice nothing’s a waste of time. It’s a collection of stories about fumbling your way to feeling good again and how living’s never perfect, but you can make it pretty.”
Hazlett’s lyrics naturally often deal with transition and moments of clarity. Opener ‘Fireworks’ is the heartbreak song of the record, although he tells us “it’s more a realization that you can’t make someone love you, and if you need to can you really call that love.” Elsewhere on the record, ‘Karaoke’ is about being there when your friends need you – in this case, while on a night out with Lindsay Lohan in NYC that got out of hand – “when that happens I have a paternal instinct that kicks in, I get a one-track mind for making sure nothing happens to my friends.”
After writing songs and playing in various rhythm sections for most of his formative years, Hazlett has been able to perfect his own artistry. Teaming up with producer Freddy Alexander, Hazlett combines the heart and grit of the songwriters of old with an open-minded nature that takes in a plethora of modern pop influences. He is certainly one to watch out for this year.
Review by Hannah Schneider