HAZLETT - 'Suncats'
HAZLETT follows up his fragile single ‘Fireworks’ with a new sense of hope on current single ‘Suncats’ out now via BLNKMusic.
HAZLETT introduces ‘Suncats’ intimately through woozy, space-tinged synth offering his listener escapism and setting a tone of exploration and self reflection only reinforced in the open lyric, “I fled to far away lands, I couldn’t stay”. HAZLETT knows that sometimes you have to leave and embrace the unknown to find yourself. As such, the sadness of letting go is soon replaced with the hope of new beginnings.
Speaking to the motivation behind Suncats, HAZLETT explains:
“I was lying on the floor of the studio sulking and strumming my guitar. The sun was reflecting off it and dancing along the wall when my Swedish friend pointed to the reflections and said "what do you call those in English?". I said we didn't really have a word for something like that. He explained in Sweden you call them 'Solkatter' which directly translates to 'Suncats'. That word flipped the switch for me. It took something so simple or unnoticeable and made it poetic. It was like a metaphor that snapped me out of my cliché post break-up depression. Find a little beauty in the mundane and even a little good in the bad. If you do that nothing is ever a waste of time.”
Written in HAZLETT’s confessional style of songwriting, ‘Suncats’ doesn’t shy away from recognising sombre memories and painful feelings. But HAZLETT and producer Freddy Alexander turns them on their head. The track’s lifeline hooky mantra delivered through HAZLETT’s empowering husky vocal, “Don’t go thinking it’s a waste of time” is relatable for many different situations where you feel you’ve tried your best and somehow ended up falling short.
As HAZLETT lyrically exudes positivity, the track sonically swells with an expansive soundscape of upbeat atmospheric textures, threading warm guitar lines, crunchy percussion and joyous brass textures into danceable uplifting melodies that feel like inhaling that first blast of fresh air when you’ve been underwater for too long. Another beautiful cut exploring the frailty and resilience of the human mind and how sometimes all you need to do is change your perception to change your life.
Words of Karla Harris