Where popular Antipodean music’s concerned, there’s a heap of psychedelic moods and a lot of bedroom producers involved. New Zealand’s Amelia Murray—AKA Fazerdaze—is a once-disciple, now more prominent figure in the solo house-bound production world, following in the revered footsteps of Kevin Parker or Kiwi counterpart Ruben Nelsen. And despite a hefty time away from music, Soft Power is a display of its name: a strikingly bold synthpop explosion that’s rooted in her homegrown ethos.
Murray always embraced her introverted style. Self-describing her sound as ‘girl in bedroom on guitar’ is absolutely right, and a place of comfort where overstepping into the limelight can be a curse. Her well-received debut was immediately left as is, making sure Murray didn’t get dragged into a state of burnout. The tongue-in-cheek Break! EP bounded Fazerdaze back into being; an experimental free-for-all exploring new production methods beyond the songwriter’s starting blueprint. After calling on musical mentors and friends to review and tweak her compositions, the confidence has clearly hit new heights, shown through the accomplished pop of this long-awaited foray playfully dubbed as a ‘bedroom stadium record’.
Aptly, there’s a push and push in the desire to be centre stage and backstage simultaneously. After reflecting on the hectic, public lives of artists like Billie Eilish and Lorde with Rolling Stone, Murray channels the former’s breathy timbre with subdued tinkling pianos and synth claps for a darkly reflective mood. Dancing Years also has her thinking “I see the spotlight coming around / I wanna run and hide”, in foil to the title track which displays bold, pouncing basslines. So Easy’s guitar riff jarringly imitates Katy Perry’s Roar, perhaps intentionally parodying the glossy fakeness of ‘00s stadium pop, while on Bigger, Murray’s want for a musical career gets tangled up with the lifestyle continually affecting her relationships; “I was in a bright light standing there alone”. Again playing with ‘fun’ pop tropes as on So Easy, the track’s ‘anti-chorus’ features overwhelming siren-like synths to let Murray’s voice slink into the background. Luckily, despite these constant retreats, the refrain “we’re caught between this life and a dream / but you and me, we’re bigger” layers lackadaisical dual vocals to emphasise the idea of connection.
That’s not the only notion of experiencing nighttime, dreamlike states: a grounded theme that crops up musically and lyrically. Under echoey and washy instruments, Murray contemplates lucid dreaming and compares the waking strangeness of life to coming up for air on the lush reverie of In Blue, kickstarting the album’s highlight section. Purple’s vocal harmonies float around like subliminal thoughts in brain-space before an obscure surf guitar passage. Distorted Dreams’s downtempo trip-hop builds toward the record’s boppiest jam (pun intended) Cherry Pie: a fast upbeat version of Beach House evoking the natural dreamscape town of Twin Peaks by name and tone. Very fitting also is Sleeper’s “I float into another night” reference to Lynch favourite and dream-pop goddess Julee Cruise. Its acoustic lean follows into City Glitter, a fitting denouement that showcases the original ‘girl and guitar’ sound evolving into the Soft Power era with subtle drum production.
Fazerdaze’s brisk exit from music was felt, but Murray’s own development shines through all across Soft Power: a reflection on her musical roots, its ensuing expansion, and using a dreamscape basis to convey the difficulty of being present and thankful despite life’s disruptions all around you. Hopefully Fazerdaze won’t be too far away again this time, happy to fill the nonsense of life with her thoughtful, danceable pop.
For fans of: Magdalena Bay, Alvvays, Little Dragon
‘Soft Power’ by Fazerdaze is released on 15th November on Section1 / Partisan Records.
Words by Elliot Burr
