Indie-folk musician Hazlett has just released his latest single called Shiver, taken from his upcoming EP, out 4th October. This completes his Goodbye to the Valley Low project.
Shiver immediately puts you into a contemplative and restful headspace. Hazlett’s vocal style is wistful and steady, at times almost whispery, but there’s a strong emotive pull. The track has a simple arrangement and intricate acoustic guitar fingerpicking while the lyrics ponder over the difficulty of making the right choices in life. Hopefully Shiver will lead to you seeking out more of his compositions; they exude a gentle, atmospheric quality that is compelling and his lyrics display a disarming honesty and openness.
Hazlett says about Shiver, ‘I’ve always had this tug-o-war in my head of how much control do I really have of my life? Do I have to be petrified of every decision I make? Or do I just say whatever will be will be and sit back? I think to some extent whatever path we take life has a funny way of taking us to our destination anyway. But that only happens when we’re led by our gut, we have good intentions and we’re not scared to make the wrong choice. Sometimes it is just about choosing a door to open and being irrationally confident that the universe will guide you to where you need to go either way.’
Recorded in an off-grid cabin in the middle of Scandinavia, the first part of Goodbye to the Valley Low was released late last year. It’s a stripped-back collection of delicate indie-folk songs. Hazlett was inspired to revisit the cabin, knowing there was more to explore. This new EP with six brand new songs completes the project, which together with the first EP, makes one cohesive album.
The songs are once again exquisitely layered, the musicality is rich, the tracks are timeless and Hazlett’s hushed vocals enthral across the 6 tracks.
‘Truth be told there was never meant to be a Side B to Goodbye to the Valley Low, but the more that I tried moving on from it the more I kept getting pulled back,’ Hazlett explains.‘ I think being out there in the cabin brought out a lot of initial feelings that I worked through and then after that I was left with all these half thoughts and feelings that needed a little more work to figure out. Which might be why it sounds a little bit darker at times. If Side A was the curiosity of the cabin then Side B is working through all the questions that it left behind.’
Hazlett was born and raised in Australia but has bloomed in Sweden. Everything crystallised in Stockholm after finding the fabled collaborator chemistry in now close friend Freddy Alexander. A lot has changed since then and what started as a way for him to “figure out some things in his head…” has now become a whole world of music and beautiful details to move through.
HAZLETT HEADLINE EUROPEAN TOUR:
08.11.2024 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 3
09.11.2024 – Madrid, ES @ Clamores
11.11.2024 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand
14.11.2024 – Oslo, NO @ Belleville
16.11.2024 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
17.11.2024 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtwach
18.11.2024 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso (Upstairs Room) SOLD OUT
19.11.2024 – Antwerp, NL @ Kavka
21.11.2024 – London, UK @ Lafayette *upgraded from Omeara
22.11.2024 – Bristol, UK @ Dareshack *upgraded from The Louisiana
23.11.2024 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
24.11.2024 – Dublin, IE @ Grand Social
26.11.2024 – Glasgow, UK @ Glad Cafe
27.11.2024 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
29.11.2024 – Paris, FR @ Backstage by the Mill
01.12.2024 – Cologne, DE @ Jaki
02.12.2024 – Frankfurt, DE @ Sankt Peter Cafe
03.12.2024 – Munich, DE @ Milla
04.12.2024 – Rubigen, CH @ Mühle Hunziken
05.12.2024 – Zurich, CH @ Exil
07.12.2024 – Vienna, AT @ Chelsea
08.12.2024 – Prague, CZ @ Cafe V Lese
09.12.2024 – Berlin, DE @ Privat Club
Goodbye to the Valley Low via Nettwerk is out October 4th, on vinyl as a 12-track album
Links: Hazlett | Facebook | Instagram
Photo: Masterduck