Hazel English – “Combat”
It’s been quite a good half-decade since Hazel English first caught our attention — we named her an Artist To Watch back in 2016 — but the Australian native is finally rolling out her debut album. Produced by mainstream-indie mainstays Justin Raisen and Ben H. Allen, Wake UP! is set to drop in April. Today English is following “Shaking” and “Off My Mind” with a third teaser single.
Her new one, “Combat,” trades her guitar-spangled dream-pop stylings for warm country-tinged balladry. She says it’s “about the push and pull of two people dealing with conflict in a relationship… about how sometimes winning an argument can actually mean losing the real battle — maintaining intimacy with a partner.” Listen below and compare with Taylor Swift’s “The Archer,” a song that deploys the same metaphor.
Wake UP! is out 4/24 on Marathon/Polyvinyl. Pre-order it here.