Album Review: Dizzy – The Sun and Her Scorch
After Taylor Swift swept the nation with surprise album ‘folklore’ last week, Canadian four-piece Dizzy are saying “all eyes on us” with wonderful sophomore album ‘The Sun and Her Scorch’.
‘The Sun an Her Scorch’ is an eclipse of emotions. Sorrow and melancholy run through its very veins, creating an album made for emotional healing. ‘Worms’ and ‘Worms II’ frame the record, gently leading you into Dizzy’s universe and safely guiding you back out. They feel a little like showering before and after going for a swim: the first preparing you for what lies ahead, the other washing of traces of chlorine (or in this case fragile emotions). The rest of the album follows the Dizzy formula of timeless indie pop. Frontwoman Katie’s angelic vocals are joined by bright, fuzzy melodies to form sonic dreamscapes. But where their debut centred around youth, ‘The Sun and Her Scorch’ follows a different direction. “’Baby Teeth’ was all about the confusion and sadness of my late teens, but this one is more about the qualities of myself that I’m not very proud of,” Katie says. “I wanted to be completely honest about the things nobody ever wants to admit, like being jealous of your friends or pushing away the people who love you. So instead of being about romantic heartbreak, it’s really about self-heartbreak.”
This notion manifests in a plethora of deeply emotive songs, each thrilling with intricate backdrops and confessional choruses. It’s impossible to pick a favourite. There is ‘Good and Right’ with its soft folk colouring, pensive ballad ‘Primrose Hill’ that almost feels like a eulogy, and the haunting heartbreak of ‘Ten’. In all of its many forms, Dizzy’s soaring sound is impressively delicate, not least because of their raw, unfiltered lyricism that never fails to hit home – “So I’ll sleep it away to stop the spring from all her warming, and I’ll sweat like a kid in my sheets. And I’m coping, though I’m older still too young to be so lonely, and I sleep it away.” (‘Daylight Savings Time’)
In all of its serene glory, ‘The Sun and Her Scorch’ is just as magical as debut ‘Baby Teeth’. Dizzy have found their place and marked their territory; these four are not going anywhere fast. Except up, there’s always room to reach for the stars.
Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven