I thought all the Swedes were on vacation right now but Hazlett clearly isn’t as he launches this classy song ‘Shiver’ on an unsuspecting public.
Hazlett, born in Australia but now ensconced in Sweden, took the option of recording it in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, one little delight many Scandies have at their disposal which would be much more difficult here, where the summer cabin in the country isn’t exactly a tradition.
It’s part of a forthcoming EP which will be the second part of a project ‘Goodbye to the Valley Low’, the two effectively adding up to one album, and made up of indie songs full of personal anecdotes courtesy of Hazlett and his collaborator Freddy Alexander.
He says of ‘Shiver’ that it is about how much control you have over your life and how much it is simply down to fate While the path you take will not necessarily overcome life’s propensity to take you to your destination it is your responsibility to at least make choices and take chances.
If that resonates with you, as it does with me right now, you’ll enjoy the song a whole lot more for it.
Musically it is sparse in its minimalist arrangement yet rich in the production, which gets pleasantly psychy towards the end.
Lyrically it is sharply and smartly observational and very well written. On a couple of occasions in the chorus he returns to what is, for me, the key lines – “I love my bed then they took it away/I felt a shiver and that’s all it takes,” from which I conclude he means you can’t hide under the sheets forever and you have to embrace and control your fears.
Hazlett is an album man. You only have to listen to this one track to know he is a weaver of intertwining stories.
The single is out now and the EP on October 4th, along with a vinyl full album of both parts of ‘Goodbye to the Valley Low’.
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisishazlett/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/thisishazlett
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisishazlett
Hazlett will tour the UK and Ireland later in the year, unusually for a lot of Nordic artists these days.
These are the dates:
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.
