The sun always shines brighter the day we receive new material from the ethereal Fazerdaze (the nom de plume of Amelia Murray) who will be releasing her first LP in seven years – ‘Soft Power’ – on 15 November via Buttrfly/Virgin Music Group.
Fazerdaze’s new single ‘A Thousand Years’ is driven by a pattering electronic drum and a softly eloquent dappling piano that floats like a silken veil in the wind. Murray’s velvet hypnotic vocals are like a dream sequence, switching at times to a spoken voice delivery. The instrumentation swells like the vast Pacific Ocean at one point: becoming grand and theatrical redolent of The Cure.
The surreal and hazy impact of the sounds is augmented by the lyrics that drip with a certain anxiety: a fear of being subsumed by the passage of time but a need for permanence and perhaps acceptance of giving all to a demanding audience.
I watch the world go by and
days start to multiply and
months start to disappear I
fold into a thousand years
And yet hope, resilience and stoicism threads its way through the maelstrom: as long as I stay still it’s almost nearly bearable.
Fazerdaze is showing an immense capacity for growth and diversity in her music while remaining true to her core self: independent, vital and deeply personal. It really is magnificent stuff.
The self made video is revealing – close intimate portraits of Murray, a sense of vulnerability and isolated, interspersed with visual noise: the cacophony of life in the headlights intruding and overpowering.
‘A Thousand Years’ is out today and you can get it here.
Of the new album, Murray says:
Welcome to ‘Soft Power’. This is what I created during the darkest, loneliest, most tumultuous years of my life—entering womanhood, navigating the world, the music industry, and what I thought was love. In my scariest moments, this album was my anchor for hope, purpose and light. I am so relieved and content to finally share ‘Soft Power’ with you.
You can pre-order ‘Soft Power’ with a special edition Flying Nun vinyl edition here and other formats here.
